The Championship
by bigb360
Summary: A prequel to my one-shot, Champion. Misty has been the leader of the Elite Four for only a few years, but the politics are starting to make her cynical. Bonds of friendship and love will be tested as a new challenger appears for a shot at the Pokemon championship.
1. Surprise!

Misty hated her dress. Sure it looked good; a long form fitting sequin dress that was one of her favorite deep red colors. Sure it was perfect for this formal League gathering. But every time she moved in it she found herself tugging at the top awkwardly, hoping no one saw her. It was so uncomfortable, and she always longed to get back into her jeans shorts and t-shirt whenever she had to wear one to a formal league event.

As the drink tray passed near her again, she inconspicuously grabbed another glass and quickly downed it. Yes she was starting to feel the effects of the Champaign, and no she didn't care. She figured she could be a little buzzed if she was going to have to endure an uncomfortable dress and the occasional annoying meathead who had gotten just deep enough into the Kanto gym badge hunt to have been invited to the event, and thought that entitled them to hit on the head of the Elite Four. Not to mention the myriad of annoying reporters who knew they were supposed to wait until her press conference to ask her questions, but always tried to sneak a few in before she met the final four challengers for the right to face her Elite Four. Then there were the rich donors who had their noses in the air and sticks up their asses for most of the night who she **had** to placate. _Because money, of course,_ she thought cynically.

On the other hand, there were the very talented younger trainers who had collected an impressive number of badges who also tended to shyly approached her for an autographed Pokeball or a simple hug, and those were the moments that proved to her all of the annoyances were worth it.

After politely turning down another burly suitor, she found herself mingling with an older group of donors while she absentmindedly gnawed on some hors d'oeuvres, not really listening to what they were saying, but nodding every once in a while to seem polite and engaged. Her mind wandered as she found herself wondering what Ash was doing at that moment; most likely out in the elements, no doubt having some sort of hair-brained adventure that she knew she'd scold him about once he told her the details.

Departing her daydream suddenly, she realized the group she was with was looking at her expectantly. _Oh crap, they asked me a question,_ she thought as she scrambled to try to figure out what they'd said.

"Sorry," she apologized, "it's a little loud in here right now. Could you repeat the question?"

An older lady with a clearly distinguished air about her ( _or is that just sanctimonious snobbishness?)_ repeated her question, "Have you kept abreast of the trainers who will be in the final two bouts tomorrow?"

Of course Misty was going to have to lie about this. Yeah she'd watched a few matches in the early brackets, but she was an extremely busy person, and the week of the matches were more hectic than the Olympics week. It was impossible to keep track of all of the trainers and their Pokemon. She was lucky when she wasn't being informed of some Team Rocket activity, or having to be a liaison for the Kanto league to other regions, to be able to observe a couple of matches. She normally waited for the challenger to be decided before she began to study them in depth to prepare for the eventuality that they would challenge her. That was just the simple reality of time management as the head of the Elite Four. And it's not like it had hurt her. Of the two trainers who had beaten the third Elite Four member during her time, neither of them had been able to beat her water Pokemon onslaught. She was undefeated in her time as the Elite Four leader.

"Yes, a bit," she lied, "a very impressive bunch this year."

One of the older men, who actually had a monocle of all things, interjected with a strong southern drawl, "y'all certainly aren't wrong about that. Especially that one boy. He done gone and steamrolled everyone he's faced. He didn't have one go down until his last match, and even then it was only one."

That actually caught her attention. Normally the matches at that level were fairly even. Very rarely did you have even three Pokemon remaining total in the final four bouts. A good bit of the time each trainer was reduced to their final Pokemon. She was about to inquire more about this boy when she felt someone tap her shoulder from behind.

"Ma'am, they're almost ready for you," her secretary whispered to her.

She nodded goodbye to the group of people as she turned to follow her young employee to her table at the front of the banquet hall. She was always awed at the size of the venue. The ceilings were at least 50 feet tall, and the large chandelier at the center of the room always gave her the impression that this was more of a castle than a banquet hall next to a sports stadium that seated 120,000 screaming Pokemon League fans. But that was the League for you. Extravagant to the last detail. And it's what kept it in its position of prominence for so long.

Misty smiled as she approached her table and saw her three other colleagues already seated. One in particular she noticed poking at his food and not really paying attention to his surroundings. She decided to take advantage of his aloofness and snuck up behind him. She lightly put an arm on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "You know it's already dead, Brock," taking delight in how high he jumped out of his seat.

"You almost made me dump over the entire table," Brock said glaring at her as tears ran down her face in her fit of laughter. She sat down and tried to compose herself, but she had already caught the disapproving scowl of another of her colleagues.

"How about we try to show a little bit of class here, _Leader_ Misty?" Karen said, scowling at her. Misty cringed at the sarcastic tone that the older woman forced into her title. She quickly stopped laughing and dabbed the tears off her eyes and rapidly developed an annoyed attitude herself due to her colleague's typical air of superiority. She tried to put it out of her mind and grabbed a compact mirror out of her bag to make sure her makeup hadn't smudged and her mascara hadn't run. Satisfied as she could be with her appearance, she looked at the other Elite Four member and, as always, he sat as stoically as he had for the many years he had been in his position as an elite four member. Koga would never change.

The announcer had made his way to the podium and began the final ceremony of the evening. "Ladies and gentlemen. Esteemed gym leaders, revered Elite Four members, we thank you for being here at our 105th annual league year-end invitational dinner." Soft applause filled the banquet hall and Misty took a bite of whatever it was that was on her plate (she couldn't tell). She decided she would rather go hungry and spat it into her napkin, suddenly hoping the cameras hadn't panned to her in that moment. "It is now time for the final four league challengers to enter the hall and meet the Elite Four. If our esteemed Pokemon Masters would please make their way to the stage."

Misty let Brock help her up and found herself tugging at the top of her dress again, not really caring anymore if the cameras picked it up or not. She followed her other three colleagues to the stage as the crowd applauded a little more vigorously. Even though they were the Elite Four, Misty pondered on just how ironic she thought it was that the four of them were together so rarely. They all had so many responsibilities with the League and individually throughout the year. Each offseason they all had a short vacation, followed by many humanitarian aid mission or consultations. Sometimes she visited Pokemon universities as a lecturer or a visiting professor. Brock did charity work for sick Pokemon quite often when he wasn't acting as a liaison himself to other regions. Koga and Karen had a set schedule that they had followed since before she had been a member. Add in time to catch and train Pokemon, and an Elite Four member's time was rapidly consumed. Really, the only time they were for sure together was once a year during the Indigo Plateau Conference. So it was a treat for the public to get to see them together, and she was always pretty excited about it herself.

She and the other members waved a bit to the crowd and posed for several pictures for the media briefly until the announcer moved the event on. "Now we'd like to welcome the final four challengers to the stage for their privilege to meet the Elite Four!"

Spotlights, cameras, and eyes all panned to the doors at the side of the room as, one after another, the four strongest trainers that year entered the banquet room and began making their way to the front. Misty smiled as the first challenger that entered was a young girl. Misty immediately liked her style, as the young girl's bright yellow dress reminded her of an old outfit she liked to wear while out traveling. Her blonde ponytail bounced as her bright smile showed off spunk and enthusiasm. The next trainer was a young man with brown hair and rather large glasses, which she noticed he constantly reached up to adjust. The third was a young woman with long brown hair, a white had with a Pokeball imprinted on it, and a blue top with a red skirt. Then Misty's eyes landed on the fourth trainer who entered the room, and one of them began to twitch.

"We'd like to welcome to the stage, in no particular order, Bella McKinley, Joey Young, Leaf Green, and Ash Ketchum!"

Misty's vision began to tunnel and her head felt like it was being filled with Jumpluff cotton. She felt the back of her neck start to burn and she knew her face was getting red and some prominent veins were more than likely beginning to bulge on her forehead. She shook her head and tried to recover from the initial surprise and then turned to glare at her boyfriend, hoping the audience was too busy with what the announcer was saying and with the busyness of the proceedings in general to notice her familiarity. Ash winked at her and it was almost enough to send her over the edge. _No Misty, you can get through this, and then you can throttle him later!_ She glanced over at Brock accusingly and he looked far too smug to not have known what was going on. He caught her glaring at him and looked a little bit scared briefly, followed by the dopiest shrug she thought she had ever seen. She was wrong, she had two people to throttle.

"…and now we come to the moment where the esteemed leader of the Elite Four will end tonight's festivities with a brief statement in preparation for tomorrow's matches! Please put your hands together for Misty Waterflower!"

 _Crap!_ Misty knew was definitely not in the proper place to give an inspirational speech. The announcer handed her the microphone and the crowd quieted. _Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him,_ she thought over and over, knowing the minute she did she would not get through her speech.

"Ah…um…," she stammered, not really sure where to start, "It is certainly an honor to be able to take part in another exciting season of Pokemon League activities. I wish our finalists luck in their battles tomorrow."

She quickly shoved the microphone back into the hands of the announcer, who was a bit taken aback as he seemed to be expecting a longer speech from her, but he rolled with it and brought the night to a close. The Elite Four members began to shake hands and say a few words to the challengers on stage with them. With the way they were positioned, Misty and Brock were going to be speaking with Ash last. She said a few words of encouragement to the other three as they made their way to her, and then came Ash. He extended his hand to her as he rubbed the back of his head with his other hand. She hadn't really gotten a good look at him since he'd come in given her initial shock, but she had to admit he cleaned up pretty well. His hair was actually combed and he was wearing a very nice sports coat over a button up shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Pretty business casual for a formal event, she thought, but he made it work.

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it a little harder than she meant to, causing him to gasp.

"What are you doing?" she whispered to him through gritted teeth, making sure the multiple media recorders surrounding her and the other members of the Elite Four and the other challengers didn't hear her.

"I'm here to challenge the Elite Four!" he replied proudly as he performed a silly handshake with Brock.

"Stop that!" she said smacking their hands down and immediately regretted how loud she was. She just laughed at the couple of reporters who took notice and waved them off, which she knew wasn't going to last for long. She poked Brock in the chest and said, "I want to see you in my office tomorrow morning," and then quickly shifting to Ash she leaned in and whispered, "Expect a text soon."

She turned away and headed toward the group of reporters who were desperately trying to get her to answer a few questions, which she began to attempt to field with her typical strong demeanor, leaving Ash and Brock to another group. She grabbed her phone and quickly typed out a short text message while navigating through the crowd toward the exit. She needed to get out of that damn dress already!

* * *

Misty stood by the pier just down the road from the league stadium several hours later, trying her best to blend into the small crowd of tourists who were staying up late and enjoying the crisp night air. The city lights shined behind her casting an impressive reflection on the small lake, and she gazed out on the water letting the sounds of the small waves caused by the steady breeze ease the nerves that had been building since the ceremony earlier that night. Since she was a small child, water had always calmed her down, whether she was swimming in it or just standing near it. It had always been an escape for her from her sisters as they were growing up, and a distraction from her constant loneliness throughout her childhood. Perhaps that's why she had developed such an affinity for the Pokemon that made the water their home.

She wore a thin headscarf that concealed her bright orange hair and part of her face and a white jacket and blue jeans. She was actually happy the weather had taken a cold turn since she needed an excuse to bundle up so she could move through town partially disguised without drawing a crowd or the paparazzi. Thankfully, no one had even given her a second glance as she strolled down the street in the dark in her disguise.

She looked at her phone to see if she'd received a reply to her earlier text, but all that met her eyes was the last one she had sent: "Pier, 1 AM, don't tell anyone! Don't get tailed!" She hoped that was clear enough for the recipient, as she knew he could be quite clueless sometimes. The phone suddenly buzzed in her hand and she nearly dropped it, but recovering quickly she saw a reply text appear on screen: "Look behind you."

Misty slowly turned around to see a tall, thin young man with shockingly recognizable disheveled hair and a blue and black jacket approaching her. He had his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans and looked a bit sheepish as he approached her. She took several steps toward him and closed **all** of the space between them. Her face touched his chest and she nudged it a couple of times with her forehead before she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him to herself. He hugged her back and they stood that way for several minutes. He leaned down to kiss her forehead, but as soon as his lips grazed her skin she quickly smacked him on the chest and pushed him back slightly.

"No, I'm supposed to be mad at you," she said, halfway seriously.

"Aw Misty, how come? I just wanted to surprise you! And don't get mad at Brock. I made him promise not to tell you….and to keep you busy with other things during my matches…"

She growled at him slightly, "So that's what all those stupid Three Stooges marathons were about. I thought he was just going through a thing because he was dumped by his girlfriend!"

"Oh he still has that girlfriend," Ash admitted with a sideways grin on his face.

"HE LIED ABOUT HIS GIRLFRIEND!?" she seethed. "Of all the no good…."

Ash grabbed her face and gave her a kiss before she was able to continue cursing their friend and she resisted for a second before giving in and putting her arms around his neck, returning the kiss. The night was so still and the wind felt so good on her skin. The flickering streetlights made for a surprisingly nice ambiance next to the water, and she just wanted to enjoy the moment with Ash before she had to talk to him about what really needed to happen in the next several days.

Having expended her supply of air, Misty finally pulled away and moved to Ash's side and they began to walk down the pier together. She leaned her head into him as he wrapped his right arm around her. She liked how tall he had gotten as opposed to when they had first met, as it gave her head the perfect spot to lean into his chest whenever they were able to walk together.

"I really missed you, Mist," he said softly.

"I missed you," she said, "how was Kalos? Did you see Serena and Clemont?"

"Yeah. I stayed with Clemont for a couple days before I came back to challenge the Kanto gyms. She was at the gym every day. They helped prepare me for this actually. I think she was there mostly to see him, though," he said chuckling.

"So she finally got over my boyfriend, eh?" Misty teased. She and Serena had been friends for several months now, but there were some tense times when they had first met because Serena's longstanding crush on Ash didn't simply disappear overnight. But nothing had gotten too catty or immature and Serena seemed to have eventually taken a liking to the smart young gym leader from Lumiose. She was glad to hear things seemed to be working out.

Misty enjoyed the still night air at her boyfriend's side for a few more minutes before deciding she needed to tell him what was on her mind.

"Ash, the league, the media, everyone…they can't know there's this between us if you're going to challenge for the championship," she motioned with her hand, pointing to both of them.

He looked at her a bit confused, "Why not? There aren't any rules against girlfriends and boyfriends battling in the league finals."

"Officially, no," she said, "but what the rules are officially doesn't matter to the tabloids. And they certainly don't matter to the league curators if it makes the league look bad. I know Karen is in their ear, and I know some of them are watching me more closely right now. I'm wondering if they're looking for excuses to bump me from the Elite Four. We're honestly taking a big risk even being out here tonight together."

Ash turned to her a little shocked, "I had no idea, Mist! I'll drop out first thing tomorrow…"

"NO!" she said a little too loudly, then quieter she said, "No. Ash I'm not going to stop you from trying to fulfill this dream. I know how much a league championship means to you, and while I was a little annoyed when I first saw you tonight, I realize how close you are now! And I think someone at the event mentioned how easily you're handling the competition."

"I did think it would be a bit harder," he said laughing.

She bopped him on the arm. "Don't get cocky, mister. But as I was saying, I won't hear about you dropping out. I don't want you to dare even think about it. But you have to know there can't be any indication of a conflict of interest here. I don't want to give Karen any more ammunition against me. She's had it out for me ever since I knocked her out of the top spot, and I know she has the ears of at least two curators. It's just precautionary."

"Geez, Mist, it seems like an awful risk for you to take when it's on me for not telling you I was entering," he said, and she could tell he was still considering simply dropping out.

"Look, Ketchum," she said sternly, "if you drop out I'll just resign."

She got him there. She knew how proud of her he was and how much support he'd shown during the process of her becoming a member of the Elite Four. That support had been what had ultimately brought them beyond their shy flirting and dancing around their romantic feelings into their current relationship. He had worked long hours with her preparing her and her Pokemon for the initiation tests and battles it took for her to take the position. It was that time together that finally broke through years of stubborn denial.

"Fine," he relented.

She squeezed him with her left arm, pulling herself in closer to his warm body, "Besides. It won't even be an issue. It's not like you're going to beat me or anything," she said, unable to contain her giggling.

Ash dramatically moved to face her and leaned over so that he was looking directly into her eyes and said proudly, "Oh no? You mean how I wasn't going to most certainly beat you for the cascade badge in our first battle?"

She blinked at him faux-innocently and replied, "No hun, I mean how like I beat you at the Whirl Cup."

Ash was actually visibly shaken for a moment, which pleased Misty quite a bit, until she saw a smug smile form on his face. "Well let's just ask Totodile who he thinks will win."

At that Misty's face turned to a pout and she turned to leave with a dramatic flair, "We'll see in a couple of days then, Mr. Ketchum. I think you'll be lucky to even reach Brock, let alone me."

He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around and kissed her again. It had been so long since they'd been together, and everything about reuniting with him again made her feel as good as she had in months, but she knew that the more time they spent together the more risk they took of their relationship being plastered on tomorrow's issue of Poke-Gossip Weekly. The kiss ended and she smiled as she backed away slowly, not letting go of his hand until they were simply too far apart. They exchanged good-nights and she turned and quickly began making her way back to her apartment near the stadium. He waited for a few minutes before making his way back to his hotel.

Whatever happened in the next few days, Ash was determined to make an impact on the Pokemon world. One way or another.

* * *

 **Note:**

 **Hey everyone. I wrote my short one-shot, Champion, as kind of a tribute and celebration for the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Pokemon anime, but now I can't get the idea out of my head, so I wanted to write a prequel of the events that led up to that story. I'm not entirely sure where the story will go, but I have a general idea in my head. I kind of want it to flow organically.**

 **A few details, this begins 12 years after Misty and Ash first met (making them about 22). They're both experienced and (clearly) successful trainers, but their romantic relationship is only a couple years old at the most. I haven't really decided how long they've been together, but it wasn't long after Misty became an Elite Four member at 18. As the story makes clear, her relationship with him isn't widely known, which they decided was for the best since Ash still has personal ambitions and didn't want the distraction of being known as the boyfriend of the leader of the Kanto Elite Four. He was willing to reveal it at this point, but as you see Misty has other reservations. Brock knows, Ash's mom knows, her sisters know. That's about it.**

 **Bear with me if I get some continuity details with the anime wrong. I haven't really watched it in years. I love the early seasons and love these characters and hope this is a fun and fitting tribute to them.**


	2. Friendship, Love, and Problems

Misty's alarm went off for the third time and she once again smashed the snooze button, hoping the next five minutes would feel longer than the last five minutes. She stared at the display over the top of her blankets; 5:35. _That boy is going to kill me,_ she thought as she recalled the reason she had gotten in to bed so late. A late-night rendezvous with her secret boyfriend seemed like a great idea when she initially came up with the plan, but in retrospect it now dawned on her how much she was going to have to rely on her old pal caffeine to get her through the festivities of that day.

She gave in to her upcoming responsibilities and sat up in bed, stretching her arms toward the ceiling of her league-provided apartment. She still wasn't sure if it would ever feel like a home to her. Even after four years it had never really grown on her. Perhaps it was the lack of the distinct smell and the slight humid feel that the large pools and aquariums at her gym in Cerulean city provided her for years. Or maybe it was because none of the furnishings were actually hers in the strict sense, because the league had provided every housing amenity she needed when she was accepted as an Elite Four member. Or was it the fact that she was traveling a good bit of the time? Whatever it was, the apartment didn't feel like it was broken in even after all the time it had technically been her home.

She stumbled into the kitchen still trying to shake the sleep out of her head, her socks making soft patting noises on the cool tile floors. She grabbed her favorite coffee cup (a dark blue one with several starmie printed on it that she had gotten from Ash for her birthday several years before) and filled the cup with the coffee that she had set to brew the night before. She next nabbed a grapefruit and an egg from the fridge and started to cut the grapefruit after putting the egg on a skillet. She could have the league cook whip her up some breakfast, but she liked doing things for herself. She'd been cooking for herself for years as it was thanks to careful tutelage by her cooking mentor, Brock, and she was proud that there were no more purple stew fiascos anymore.

Her eyebrows rose as her phone began to vibrate on the table next to her plate just as she sat down to eat. Sighing she picked it up to hear her secretary's voice. "Good morning, ma'am," she said, "just wanted to make sure you're up. Your first meeting with the press is at 8:30, and you still have to go through makeup and hair…"

"Yes, Carrie, thank you. I'll be in my office shortly," she replied.

"Um…a couple more things here: Master Brock called and said you wanted to see him this morning. Should I set up a meeting after the press conference?"

 _Oh yeah,_ Misty chuckled a bit remembering the brief look of horror on Brock's face when she jabbed her finger in his chest. But in all honesty, she did need to sit down with him and make sure he was on the same page with her and Ash. "Yes, just tell him to meet me right after the press conference."

She heard her secretary scribble something on a notepad through the earpiece and after a moment of silence Carrie said, "Also, I took three phone calls about twenty minutes ago. Your sister, Daisy, a young woman named Serena, and….a Delia Ketchum?"

Misty sat up suddenly. _What in the world are those three calling me for so early!?_

"Uh, thank you, Carrie. I'll return those calls before I head to the press conference."

She hung up with her loyal employee and immediately began dialing her sister's cell phone. Daisy picked up almost immediately.

"Hey, sis. You're getting cozy up there on the Indigo Plateau, eh?" she said jokingly, without even waiting for a greeting.

Misty's face scrunched up into utter confusion, "I guess? What are you talking about?"

"You haven't seen the news this morning?"

Misty was still confused, "No, I just woke up. What…."

Misty paused for a second and then sprinted to her room where her laptop was set up, nearly slipping on the slick tile floor in her socks as she rounded a corner. Flipping open the lid she opened her browser and navigated to the first news site that came into her mind. Right on the front of the site was a picture of her and Ash on the pier during one of their kisses. Her hand went to her face and she looked in horror through her fingers at the article. She knew last night was too big of a risk. Those weren't flickering streetlights after all. They were camera flashes. But as she read it and looked at more of the pictures it suddenly became clear to her that they hadn't figured out who she was. The title to the article she was reading said it all: _Tournament Final Four Challenger and his Mysterious Young Lover._

 _Oh, for Pete's sake,_ she thought as she rolled her eyes at the ridiculous title. She looked at the rest of the pictures in the article and her face was obscured in all of them. The photographer even had a note apologizing for not getting a shot of the girl's face. She pumped her fist a bit and congratulated herself smugly on her disguise.

"That **is** you, right?" Daisy finally said chuckling a little bit.

"Oh…yeah…"

Daisy laughed a bit, "Oh well then…like, what were you guys doing out that late?"

"I wanted to meet him in secret because I don't want the League to know that the leader of the Elite Four makes out with a potential challenger for the championship," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Why didn't you guys tell us he was going to be in the tournament?"

"I didn't know. He was trying to surprise me…everyone I guess," she said.

"Well we're going to all fly in for the finals!" Daisy said, "We'll see you tomorrow, sis!"

"Daisy, wait!" Misty interjected before her sister hung up. "It really is important that this not get into the media any more than it is. It would make it hard on both of us if the League found out."

Daisy just laughed, "Don't worry, sis. Your secret tryst is safe with us!"

After hanging up with her sister, Misty shot a quick text to Serena, the only person other than her sisters, Brock, and Ash's mom that knew of their relationship, explaining why she and Ash were showing up in tabloids and why they met in the middle of the night, anticipating what Serena had been calling about. Serena sent back some amused looking emojis and then mentioned her desire to come see the finals and visit them. Misty thought how much fun that would be and told her that she'd get the league to fly her and Clemont in if they wanted, which was met by another flurry of approving emojis.

She finally was able to call Ash's mom and clarify the situation with her as well. It was a little awkward to explain to her boyfriend's mother why she was making out with her son in the middle of the night and why it ended up in the papers, but the amusement in Delia's voice was palpable. "You two are adults, Misty. You know I love you. At least he isn't out cavorting with some floozy," she had so gracefully put it, causing Misty to laugh. As it turned out, Ash had already sent his mom tickets to the finals and they had arrived just that morning, she would be in attendance for her son's final battles as well.

"Will we all be able to meet up together given the circumstances?" Delia asked. Misty knew how much she valued their get togethers, and they'd become good friends as Ash finished up some of his travels.

Misty thought for a bit. It would be a shame to have her there and then not be able to see her. "We'll think of something," she said. She said her goodbyes to Delia and leaned back in her chair and sighed. She hadn't even been awake for an hour and she already wanted to go back to bed. Her eye caught the time displayed on her phone and suddenly reminded her how quickly she was going to have to get a shower and get down to her office so the makeup artist and hair stylists could do their thing. She jumped up and quickly made her way to the shower.

* * *

Misty rushed through the narrow hallway of the busier than normal league office building, attempting not to run over anyone as she made her way to her office. She was running late and the hair and makeup artists were going to have to rush in order to finish her up before the media all stormed into the press conference area expecting her to field their typical barrage of questions. Her hair was still damp and she only had a preliminary layer of makeup on, just to make it into the office. She didn't typically care that much to be plastered with makeup, but the league had certain expectations regarding how the Elite Four looked, and walking into a televised press conference with wet hair and almost no makeup wasn't going to cut it.

She took the last corner toward her office and bumped into Karen, who just happened to be leaving her office as Misty attempted to speed by.

"Ah, shit, I'm sorry, Karen," she said as she placed a hand on her shoulder to hopefully steady her somewhat from the impact.

Karen shrugged Misty's hand off her shoulder. The taller woman scowled down at Misty through light blue eyes and brushed her hair of the same color away from them. She had been an Elite Four member in one region or another for as long as Misty could remember. Misty knew of her even before she had ever dreamed of ascending to her current position from her travels with Ash through the Johto region a decade before. She and Karen had never really seen eye-to-eye, and Misty always figured it was mostly sour grapes due to Misty knocking her out of the top spot in the Elite Four as a brand-new member.

" _Leader_ Misty," Karen began, causing Misty to cringe slightly at the negative emphasis put on her title once again, "it would behoove you to be on time for these events. Things run much more smoothly when you behave professionally." She looked Misty up and down coolly. "Out late I take it?"

Misty straightened her dark blue suit coat a bit and re-buttoned it since it had come undone in her collision. She looked at Karen in the eyes and smiled as she said, "Perhaps a little late. Must be all this youthful exuberance." Misty then turned around and walked toward her office as smugly as she possibly could. It drew a "tch" from Karen as she turned around to continue her business.

Misty stepped into her very large office and immediately saw her secretary, as well as her makeup artist and hairstylist all seated around her large mahogany desk. She hurried over to her faithful employee and pulled her to the side before sitting down to address why the mother of one of the League challengers was calling her. Quietly she said, "Hey I suppose you may have recognized the names of one of the people that called this morning."

Misty looked at Carrie through worried eyes and her secretary nodded slightly and said, "Uh, maybe?"

"And you're probably wondering why she has my personal number."

"It might have crossed my mind, but it's not my place to…" Carrie began before Misty cut her off.

"Could we just not wonder to the extent that the League finds out about it?"

Carrie looked at her boss briefly before she smiled knowingly in a manner that Misty almost thought looked like a giddy schoolgirl. "Don't worry, boss. I don't know anything," she said as she pulled her fingers across her lips as if zipping up a zipper.

Misty gave her a quick hug and whispered a "thank you" in her ear before turning around to sit down for the hairstylist and makeup artist.

* * *

The press conference was pretty standard and lasted about an hour. She answered questions about the general state of the Pokemon League (strong), about slight rules changes that would be in effect for the Elite Four battles (just minor ones like the size of the field), about her predictions regarding who would win the right to challenge the Elite Four (she couldn't publicly say for obvious reasons, but she suspected one in particular would), about her thoughts on the typical strategies top trainers had been using (starting with tanky pokemon and switching to speed later in the match; she wasn't a fan), about her personal team and if it had changed at all (it hadn't, but she wasn't going to reveal that to potential challengers), and then they even asked about the big news of the day. Ash.

"So this Ash Ketchum from Pallet town has generated quite a bit of buzz for one reason or another," one of the younger journalists called out. Misty found her in the crowd and recognized her: Alexa from the Pokemon Times. "He has rolled through almost every opponent, and has made some news in the tabloids and on the morning news for getting…close to a mystery woman just last night. A lot of people consider him the favorite to challenge. I covered him a couple of years ago in Kalos where he made it quite far. Many say he's even better than you. Your thoughts?"

Misty knew she was just fishing for controversy, but she couldn't help being annoyed by the reporter's tone, and it was compounded by the fact that she was claiming people thought Ash was a better trainer than she was straight to her face. It wasn't that she would necessarily have an issue with that if it were proven true, but hearing it dug at her competitive spirit and pride as an elite trainer. She and Ash, while they were always good friends (and now even more than that), also had something of a long-running rivalry. They had only battled personally a few times, but she recalled her desire to beat him was greater than most other trainers she had ever faced. And, in spite of what the league or the public might think if they were to find out they were in a romantic relationship, there was no way she would want to lose to him.

Misty shifted her weight behind the podium to her other foot and looked at the reporter directly in the eye. "Mr. Ketchum hasn't even established himself as the challenger to the Elite Four at all, let alone me," she replied, her green eyes narrowed and her tone forceful and firm, "Look, whichever of these four challengers wins the tournament, if they should go on to beat my three esteemed colleagues…" she paused before she suddenly pointed to herself, "I will crush them."

The room was quiet for several moments, save for the sounds of uncomfortable reporters moving in their seats and scribbling furiously on their notepads. Misty let a breath that she had held since she finished her statement out and thanked the reporters for their time. Turning from the podium she saw Carrie with a bit of a shocked look on her face and knew she may have gone a little too far with that statement. She was typically much more tactful than that, but she had gotten flustered, and Ash Ketchum was again the cause. Ash wasn't the only one with ambition. She was the Leader of the Kanto Elite Four, the strongest trainer in the world. She had her pride too.

As they began their walk back to the elevators, her phone began to vibrate in her secretary's hand. Instead of having Carrie field the call, Misty decided it was probably best if she started taking her own calls for the moment, so she reached out and Carrie handed her the phone. She glanced at the caller ID, and saw that it was Ash. She stopped and looked around warily for anyone who could eavesdrop on the conversation. Satisfied it was just her and her assistant, she took the call.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Oh man, Misty," Ash began, his voice sounded clearly stressed, "you would not believe the morning I've been having. First off I woke up to twenty-two missed calls from various people. Then I step out of my hotel room and am bombarded by a bunch of reporters asking me all sorts of questions about last night and kissing and stuff. But don't worry, they don't know you were there apparently."

"Yeah, I saw the stories," she said, still almost whispering.

"Then I just saw a press conference on tv where an angry, but very pretty, woman promised to crush me!" She heard a hint of joking in his voice at that statement.

"Sounds to me like you should be careful then," she joked. "But seriously, are you going to be okay? The media isn't going to get any better at this point. And if you win today, they're only going to be more interested in you. It looks like you're turning into the big story this year."

"Yeah, I'm beginning to get that. I'm not sure about this whole celebrity thing. Even as far as I've gotten in some of the leagues I've participated in, it's never been like this!"

"Well I'm probably going to get it in the press for what I said in there too, so I guess we'll both have to deal with them. Just do your best to put them out of your mind. You've got a match tonight!"

"Alright, Mist," he said, "Don't worry about me. When can I see you?"

That pulled at her heart a bit, and she suddenly realized how this whole thing was going to complicate their relationship, at least in the immediate future. How long could they keep this quiet from the media? How long could their friends keep their mouths shut? Would they have to hide it even after his challenge? What if he won!?

Unsure of exactly what their limits should be at that moment, she said hesitantly, "I-I'm not sure if that's such a good idea with the media chasing us like it is at this point."

After that hung in the air for s bit, she heard him softly reply, "Oh..."

She felt bad. It had been months since they'd seen each other last, and yet because of their respective roles at that moment it seemed like they were just as far apart as when he'd been traveling.

"Look, just focus on your match tonight and we'll see what happens," she said, "I have a meeting with Brock in a few minutes. I have to go."

"Alright, Mist," he said.

Hearing the disappointment still in his voice, she added, "Hey. I love you."

"I love you too," he said, and she was much more satisfied with how his tone changed.

* * *

"…so that's why we're keeping it quiet. At least for now. There's no reason for Ash to get caught up in silly league politics while he's trying to compete for the championship. The last thing he needs is to be caught up in whatever vendetta Karen has out for me," Misty said, finishing up her explanation to her colleague, who also happened to be one of her best friends and frequent confidants.

"Yeah, I can see where you're coming from," Brock replied thoughtfully while rubbing his chin.

"What do you think?" she asked him, hoping the older man could bring some clarity to the situation, like he was able for so many others.

"I think it's clear that you and Karen don't care much for each other. I don't think she likes me much either, honestly. We don't talk that frequently. But as to your fears of her influence reaching some of the league curators, well I don't know about that. There isn't much precedent for removing an Elite Four member outside of retirement. And there's no precedent at all for a challenger being romantically involved with one. On the other hand, there are no rules in place to prevent such a challenge. And you've been nothing but professional since joining the Elite Four. I frankly don't see why you'd have anything to worry about. Why should anyone think you'd throw a match?"

"Has the media ever needed a reason? Once that question got out there and the League's image started taking a hit, then aren't all bets off? And if that happens before the match, then it will completely destroy all of his hard work up to this point. I want to face him without all of those distractions and questions."

He nodded, "Yeah me too. I don't know, Misty. I suppose being cautious isn't a bad thing in this case. But, uh, if he wins…"

"He might beat you, Brock, but he's not going to beat me," she elbowed him in his arm and he laughed.

"But seriously," he said, "how long do you hide this thing if he becomes champion?"

Misty let her cheeks puff and blew out a gust of air. She didn't want to think that far ahead at the moment.

* * *

The energy in the stadium was electric. One match had already been decided, and young Leaf Green, who turned out to also be from Pallet Town, had won her match and earned her spot in the final round of the challenger tournament. The night was clear and crisp. The stars were bright above the stadium, but the stadium lighting made it seem like midday on the field. It was large and was adorned with the Pokemon League Pokeball emblem in the middle, reminding everyone how big the event was, and that a new challenger would soon compete with the Elite Four. The exciting prospect that a new Pokemon League champion could soon be crowned was felt throughout the stadium, and beyond.

But at that moment Misty found herself really only able to focus on the person standing at the far end of the field. She looked as Ash scanned the stands. His eyes landed on her, and he started to raise his hand, but then quickly put it down as he seemed to realize what he was doing. Instead of lingering awkwardly, he instead shifted his focus back to the field, turned his hat around, and patted the yellow pokemon on his shoulder, patiently waiting for his match to start.

Misty felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked at her friend and smiled. Serena and Clemont had arrived that afternoon and had to quickly check into their rooms and then make their way to the stadium where Misty had them escorted to the section that was reserved for Elite Four members and their friends and family. Her sisters and her relatively new brother-in-law had arrived at around the same time as well, and Misty was able to get them seats near her as well. She loved being able to see them all again, even if it was a bit of a logistical nightmare to make such spur-of-the-moment invitations a reality.

"You okay?" Serena asked, clearly picking up the anxiety that had been bubbling up within the Elite Four leader.

Misty nodded, "Yeah, just nervous for him, I guess."

Misty glanced down to Brock's section and noticed he hadn't shown up yet. _What is keeping him?_ She wondered. As if he'd read her mind, she saw him enter the section and suddenly stood up when she saw who was with him. He walked down toward her, his hand holding the hand of a lovely looking woman who Misty hadn't seen in years. And behind them were several more people whose presence had her wanting to jump for joy.

"Lucy! May! Max!" she exclaimed as she exchanged hugs with all of them.

She knew Lucy would probably be there after she figured out that Brock hadn't been entirely truthful with her regarding his love life in order to cover for Ash's crazy scheme, but she hadn't expected to see her other friends at all.

"I found out they were coming and they'd paid for normal tickets. But I just got them upgraded to sit with us," Brock said smiling, "perks of my Elite-ness. Oh and this," he said pointing to another girl who was also approaching, "is Dawn. Dawn this is Elite Four Leader, and one of my oldest friends, Misty Waterflower."

"It's nice to finally meet you and put a face to the fishing lure," Dawn said smiling.

Misty looked a little confused as Dawn and Brock chuckled a little, and then noticed the blonde-haired young man slightly behind her as Dawn turned and pulled him forward. "And is my boyfriend, Barry."

"I've heard a lot about both of you," Misty said as she shook their hands.

She turned back to Max and May and marveled at just how much bigger Max had gotten. He was taller than Brock at this point, and was probably even rivaling Ash. "Max…how did you get so big?" She asked him.

"Puberty is a hell of a drug, eh?" May cut in, bringing a laugh out of everyone, and a blush out of her brother. She then pulled the man behind her who Misty just noticed forward and introduced him with a wink, "This is my guy, Drew."

As she looked at all of the people around, she was struck by how much of an impact Ash had on all of them. He'd mentored May, Max, and Dawn and they'd all grown to be successful trainers and coordinators. She was glad they would all be able to watch him together. She knew how much all of his friends meant and had invested so much time into all of them. She felt lucky, and was very aware of how proud of him she was in that moment.

"The match is about to start," Brock said, snapping her out of her thoughts. Everyone took their seats and looked toward the field. Ash was slowly pacing back and forth and his opponent had taken his position at the other end of the field.

The field official approached the center of the field and stood in the middle of the giant Pokeball painted on its center. Ash and the other challenger, Joey, both approached the official and shook hands.

"This will be a full League match," the official's voice boomed through the stadium through its many amplifiers, "each competitor will have access to six pokemon. When a pokemon is no longer able to battle, it must be recalled. The winner will be declared when their opponent has no pokemon who can battle. Do you understand?"

The two young men nodded and then took their places on opposite ends of the field. The official held up his hand, and then dropped it and yelled, "GO!" and the match began.

Joey unhooked a pokeball from his belt and threw it onto the field. "Go Raticate!"

Ash followed and threw an ultraball which unleashed a garachomp, causing Misty to almost spit out the drink she'd been sipping on. "When did Ash get a garachomp!?" she quietly demanded from Brock, who shrugged but was clearly just as surprised. She thought she knew all of Ash's pokemon. Apparently he had a few new surprises.

The match started fiercely, with Joey's raticate speedily racing around the field taking shots at the dodging garachomp every once in a while. It was fast, but to Misty's trained eye she could tell the garachomp was just toying with it.

"Hyper fang, Raticate!" Joey yelled and his pokemon immediately bared its sharp teeth and launced itself at Ash's dragon pokemon.

"Dodge it, Garachomp, and then hit it with dragon claw!"

The impact was huge and kicked up mounds of dust into the air, slightly obscuring the view of the two battling pokemon, but it quickly subsided leaving only the dark blue dragon pokemon standing.

"Raticate is no longer able to battle!" the official announced as Joey recalled his first pokemon.

The next four pokemon Joey sent out also were similarly one-shot by Ash's extremely well trained garachomp. Misty was beyond impressed. She was shocked. Even as much as she'd seen Ash in pokemon battles, he was now using strategies she had only seen from the very top tier and this new pokemon of his was clearly extremely well trained and very strong. Joey was down to his last pokemon and the match was only fifteen minutes in. That simply didn't happen at this high of a level. Matches were normally much more even.

Joey was clearly shaken. He hadn't been prepared to be down to his last pokemon already. He fumbled around for his last pokeball and gingerly tossed the ball out on to the field, releasing a pure white ninetales. That got Ash's attention. Misty knew it was a very unique ninetales that Kantonians didn't see every day. She heard Brock explaining to Lucy that it was an Alolan ninetales, and that unlike its Kantonian counterparts, it was an ice type pokemon, a very powerful one at that, which had a dual type advantage against Ash's garachomp.

Ash remained firm and ordered Garachomp to use fire fang. As it began to build up fire within its sharp jaws, Joey yelled for his ninetales to use blizzard. The ninetales responded with a huge blast of ice and snow that began to pelt the blue and orange dragon pokemon. Garachomp kept advancing toward the ninetales, but it was slow going as it tried to push through the beam, and it looked like it was starting to falter.

"Garachomp, use dig!" Ash yelled, clearly becoming worried for the first time that match. Garachomp suddenly dug its claws into the soft dirt below it and disappeared underground. After a brief moment of suspense, it burst out right below the ninetales, launching it into the air and simultaneously latching on to it with its flaming jaws. Then it flipped over midair and launched the foxlike pokemon into the ground. Garachomp landed and went down to one knee, clearly exhausted, but still awake, but the once white ninetales now had scorch marks where fire fang had impacted and it was down on the ground and was not moving.

"Ninetales is no longer able to battle! Challenger Joey Young has no useable pokemon, therefore challenger Ash Ketchum is the winner!"

The stadium erupted into loud cheers as Ash recalled his pokemon after he poured congratulations onto it and then gave Pikachu's head a good rub as he embraced the win. He shook the hand of the younger trainer and offered him some friendly words of encouragement. After all, he'd come closer than most everyone else to the top.

The crowd was clearly starting to see Ash as one of its favorites, and recognizing his skill and his potential to actually challenge the Elite Four successfully, chants of his name started to reverberate through the crowd. This took him a little by surprise, as he'd never really been accustomed to being a popular Pokemon trainer with crowd chanting his name. He waved tentatively as media cameras and interviewers started to surround him. Security staff had already begun to navigate Ash and his faithful Pikachu through the crowd and toward the field exit. He hadn't really expected his impact on the Pokemon world to start now.


	3. Late Night Mistakes

Misty and Brock watched from the Elite Four stadium suite as the crowd funneled out of the stadium. The matches were done for the night and the excitement had abated. Misty sat with her chin in her hand as she absentmindedly stirred her martini with a toothpick and lazily watched the crowd leave the stadium. The rest of their friends, with the exception of Lucy who was sitting with Brock next to Misty, had all left to join Ash and his mother to celebrate his win somewhere downtown.

 _So here I am, after the biggest win of my boyfriend's life, as the third wheel for Brock's date,_ she thought cynically.

She scowled and then downed her drink and stood up announcing, "I'm going to the gym."

Brock was dreamily staring into Lucy's eyes, but Lucy wasn't as distracted and looked up at Misty, quickly understanding she was upset. She elbowed her boyfriend to alert him to his obviously upset friend. He looked up and a concerned look spread across his face. "Are you okay, Misty?" he asked her.

She looked at the couple and smiled. She was genuinely happy that Brock had finally found such a great girl who really appreciated him. They hadn't been officially going out long, having only recently reconnected after many years. Misty was sad when Brock had told her they were having issues, and so had endured several three stooges sessions in the last few weeks to try to cheer him up. Needless to say, she was still a little annoyed that he had made up his relationship problems just to keep her busy while Ash was in the early stages of the tournament. But it was hard to be mad at him at that moment while seeing them so happy together.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It kind of sucks, but we'll get through it. Just a couple more days, right?" She knew how unconvinced she actually sounded, and her hands-on-her-hips body language said what she wasn't.

"Would you like to join us?" Lucy asked. "We're going for a late dinner."

Misty shook her head, "No, I think I'll be better alone right now. Plus, I need to get Gyarados some pool time. You two go have fun."

With that Misty grabbed her coat and made her way out into the crisp cool night air. The gym was just down the road from the stadium, but she decided to take a detour through the downtown entertainment district in order to distract herself from her problems. She put her hood up in order to avoid being easily identified and stepped into the lively district. The streets were crowded, and the bars and restaurants were even busier than normal due to all of the League activities going on. People brushed by her and a drunk couple almost knocked her over, but she shook it off and continued down the boisterous street, eventually pausing for a moment at several of the brilliant electronic billboards. Ash's face was plastered all over them, along with the young girl from Pallet Town, touting the upcoming match for tomorrow evening. The display changed to highlights of his battles throughout the tournament as two talking heads were discussing his success.

"Dave, this young man is going to steamroll every last competitor left. He's only had to switch to a second pokemon once, and it wasn't because the first one went down, it's because his Pikachu wanted to battle! No one even knows what his full team is! Just that garachomp and Pikachu! After all these years we'll finally have a reigning champion again!"

The other man had a different opinion, "I'm sorry, Bill, but the Elite Four is a whole other ballgame. He won't be beating down on unsuspecting trainers anymore. I agree with what the Leader said. If he even makes it to her, she's going to crush him. I predict your dream of a champion will have to wait at least another year."

The one named Bill smacked the table, "The _Leader_ was completely out of line with that statement. How dare she disenfranchise these young trainers? If you ask me, she's far too young and immature to be in her position and the League made a mistake when it allowed her to displace the former Leader."

She rolled her eyes and kept walking. Ash was a celebrity and she was turning into the heel of the Pokemon League. _Just another cheery development from the past couple of days,_ she thought, grumbling to herself.

She'd had enough of the sights and sounds of the city, so she continued her way to the gym. The large facility was empty at that point. All of the employees had gone home and it was dark. The Elite Four had unrestricted access, however, and the keycard reader made a familiar beep when she scanned her badge. She made her way through dimly lit lobby toward the locker room and quickly undressed and changed into her blue and white swimsuit and pulled the barrettes out of her hair, letting it fall its length to her mid shoulders before placing it in a ponytail.

Walking into the workout room, she released Gyarados into the large pool in a brilliant flash from the league imprinted Pokeball that she had been given upon acceptance into the Elite Four. She looked at the ball for a bit and sighed as her prized pokemon made loud happy gyarados noises as it swam around the large pool. Placing it back in her bag, she set her belongings to the side and climbed on to one of the diving platforms. Gyarados looked up at his trainer expectantly. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the sound of the small waves in the pool calm her nerves before she dove in. Gyarados quickly dove beside her and swam in sync with his elite trainer as she instinctively grabbed on to him and let him pull her around the pool as she'd trained him to do. To any onlooker, it would look like brilliantly choreographed water ballet as Misty and her pokemon effortlessly swam around the pool, complimenting each other's movements with a graceful style.

Finally needing air, she nudged her large pokemon and it surfaced. She gulped in oxygen and wiped water from her face. As her vision cleared, she suddenly noticed the dark silhouette of a figure sitting on the bleachers near the edge of the pool and she let a very loud squeak escape her lips in surprise. Immediately Gyarados had lept out of the pool and was screaming inches from the face of whoever it was who had been spying on her. The figure stumbled backward off the bleachers yelling at her in a familiar voice to call off the monstrous water-type. Pushing herself out of the pool, she walked over to the head of her pokemon and gently tapped it, calling it off without a word, kneeling down to help her terrified boyfriend and his petrified Pikachu off the floor.

"Ash, what are you two doing? You scared us," she said softly.

"Scared **you**!?" he said, still breathing heavily, "you'd think this guy would recognize us by now!" He glared warily at the large pokemon, which he could have sworn looked amused.

Misty smiled, recalling her first meeting with Gyarados where they both saved each other's respective lives. "He's just overprotective," she said. Then looking at Ash she added, "What are you doing here? I thought…"

"I snuck away," he offered quickly. "I watched our back the whole way over and zigged and zagged through alleyways and streets, so there's no way someone followed us." he animated his journey by waving his hands around, "Brock told me where you were. It just didn't feel right all this celebration without you." He looked at her from under the brim of his hat.

Her heart fluttered from his words, and his eyes. She bit her lip, at that moment not really caring if the whole world walked in on them. She leaned into him and squeezed him as he returned the hug. She felt his heartbeat quicken as she remembered that she was in a bathing suit and was all wet.

"Oh, sorry," she giggled.

He laughed and winked, "No biggie!" At that, he set Pikachu on the bleachers and set his hat down next to him. Then Misty rose her eyebrows as he removed his jacket, then his shirt, then kicked off his shoes, and finally pulled off his jeans and walked to the pool in his boxers and jumped in. She doubled over laughing as he displayed his mediocre swimming skills as he flailed and splashed his way toward the far end of the pool.

"Do you need some help in there, you giant goofball?" she yelled after him.

"I can't hear you," he glubbed, spitting water out of his mouth, "I'm too busy winning this race!"

"Ha! Race!? You didn't say we were racing!"

The water gymnast launched herself into the pool and immediately started gaining ground on the amateur who had a big head start. She masterfully slithered through the water, looking almost like a Gyarados herself sliding easily in the water until she had easily caught up with Ash. Instead of swimming past him she grabbed him around the waist and the briefly both went under before coming up gasping for air. He splashed her, and then she splashed him, and then it turned into an all-out splash war. In between their lauging, gasping for air, and splashing, she was reminded of when they were younger again.

When she saw this was going nowhere, she decided to play her trump card. "Gyarados! Use SPLASH!"

"Wait!" Ash yelped, but it was too late. Gyarados lazily brought its tail down in the other side of the pool, causing a huge wave of water rushing toward the young couple. It lifted them out of the pool and deposited them on the deck beside the pool. Ash landed directly on his back while Misty landed right on top of him, laughing. She could hear both of the pokemon across the room also laughing, and felt Ash's chest move up and down under her.

She looked down and caught his eyes, and then the laughing stopped. He was looking at her with a slight smile and slightly raised eyebrows, and she returned the smile, blinking slowly. Their lips suddenly met without either of them realizing it, but it moved fast as they sat up and clung to one another, relishing the feel of their exposed skin touching and their warm bodies entwined as they were. She felt like things were about to get out of control, and wasn't sure whether she cared or not, when suddenly a loud clank was heard from in the locker room area.

The two bolted up, slightly dizzy from the blood having just been rushing through many other parts of their bodies. "What was that?" Ash asked.

"Someone's here!" Misty whispered, looking around frantically for a place for Ash to hide. There was nothing. The pool and the bleachers had nothing near them where he could hide, and heading to the weight room would offer him little options as well if the person decided to go lift weights. There was only one thing she could think of off the top of her head. "You're going to have to hide in Gyarados' mouth."

Ash just stared at her and managed to deadpan, "What!?"

"Just trust me, he's not going to eat you!"

Gyarados had already started approaching and, again, Ash could have sworn the pokemon had an amused look on its face. Ash grumbled about his luck; having to go from a heavy make out session to practically being Jonah. Misty did feel bad for him, and was frankly pretty flustered herself as she gathered his clothes into her bag. But she couldn't help but be a little amused watching her boyfriend climbing into her gyarados' mouth very, VERY tentatively.

No sooner had Gyarados shut its mouth than had a very familiar, very blue haired woman entered the pool room only to stop short when she saw Misty and her large pokemon staring at her as she entered. Karen was wearing what Misty considered a very unnecessarily small two piece that looked maybe a size too small considering how the curvy Elite Four member was about to pour out of it. She was glad Ash was shut up in a pokemon mouth at that point.

"Hello, _Leader_ Misty," she said, continuing toward Misty.

"Karen," she replied, still looking at her through narrowed eyes as she began to make her way toward the locker room.

Karen noticed the somewhat pained look on Misty's huge water-type, "What's his problem?"

Misty bit her lip a little, "Uh...what are you talking about? He always looks like that."

"Oh-kay. Whatever," Karen replied, waving her hand as she passed her rival. Suddenly stopping, she asked, "Whose Pikachu is this?"

 _Oh no, we forgot to get Pikachu!_ Misty began to panic as Pikachu jumped up onto her shoulder. "Uh, it's mine, of course."

"You have a Pikachu? A water trainer has a Pikachu?" Karen put a hand on her hip somewhat dramatically.

"I can capture other pokemon, Karen," Misty said through gritted teeth.

"And you let it run around a pool? While you're swimming?"

"I…well I mean…" Misty did not like how her story was starting to falter.

"And I don't think I've seen a gyarados keep its mouth shut for so long," Karen was now developing a knowing smirk on her already smug face. "And why are you walking to the locker room with a gyarados out of its pokeball?"

Misty looked at her pokemon and could see the strain on its face from carrying a full grown man in its jaws for so long. Sweat droplets had already began forming on its already wet face. Misty clenched her fists and turned back to Karen and was about to lay into her when gyarados suddenly sneezed the loudest sneeze any of them had ever heard. Ash shot across the room and back into the pool with a huge splash.

Karen couldn't help but laugh as Misty ran over to the pool, but when she called out the man's name is when it really caught Karen's attention.

"Ash! Are you okay!?"

"Wait….what?" Karen said.

* * *

 **Note: Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter. It just felt like this was the perfect place to end it. This is a pretty fluffy chapter, but don't worry, there will be plenty of battles ahead.**

 **I won't reply to reviews in every chapter, but I will try to maybe after every other.**

 **nyislandersgirl: Misty is also my favorite character. I love the original three: Brock is the older brother we'd love to have, and Ash is obviously a mainstay, but Misty has always had the most interesting backstory and deepest potential of any of Ash's companions, and their relationship has always seemed so interesting, unpredictable, dynamic, and organic.**

 **MandyQ: Ash certainly wouldn't care if people knew who he was, but they both felt like they didn't need to advertise it as he was finishing up reaching for his ambitions in other regions. He's not looking for that limelight, and he doesn't want to distract from her accomplishments either. Now they have some other complicated concerns.**

 **As far as how the league works, we are given very little to go on in the anime and the games. In my universe, the Elite Four, while they have administrative powers in their own right, do answer to someone; namely the league curators. The curators kind of oversee League operations and try to act democratically in the interest of the league. Kind of sort of like some of our major sports leagues. There is a league president too. I don't know how far I'll nail it down. You may or may not see a couple of the older Elite Four members/former champions who have retired.**

 **I'm glad you picked up on some of my easter eggs. The unforgettable Youngster Joey actually became a pretty good trainer. Actually I wasn't necessarily intending Leaf to be in the story. She was kind of a placeholder name that I forgot to change. But she's there now so I'll work her in a bit.**

 **Misty became a member of the Elite Four because the League recognized her talent as a gym leader and wanted to bring some youth into the group. Brock too. They weren't the only prospects, but they won out. That could be a potential pre-prequel, haha. But there is a strenuous entrance process, and the eventual four do battle each other in order to decide their placement/importance. Misty is the best.**

 **Cake: I feel like she'd have to be competitive as a gym leader and now Elite Four leader. She doesn't like to lose. That carried over from her childhood, but I think is amplified now. She is proud of her talent, and maybe even a little cocky. After all, she hasn't lost in years.**


	4. Revelations and Victories

Misty pulled her soaking wet, half-naked boyfriend out of the pool. He looked dazed, but was no worse for wear. Her first priority was to make sure he was okay since he had hit the water traveling a considerable speed. After all, gyarados were able to fire ice, lightning, fire, and the powerful hyper beam out of their jaws. She could only imagine what the velocity was that a full sneeze traveled from the jaws of her large pokemon. She brushed his wet hair out of his eyes and looked at his face. He smiled at her, slightly dazed. As she recalled Gyarados, she made a note to thank her pokemon for aiming at the water instead of the hard concrete floor to launch Ash into.

Her next priority became damage control. She figured there wasn't any way of lying her way out of being caught with a guy in his underwear in her pokemon's mouth. Especially given this guy was one of the top challengers in the conference this year. Misty stood and turned to her colleague, who had a bemused expression on her face.

"So…" Misty started. "This is pretty awkward."

"I-uh, yes. This is definitely not what I expected to walk into tonight," Karen replied, adding, "but it certainly explains some things."

Misty decided to go with the direct route. "Look, it's obviously not widely known public knowledge, but Ash and I have known each other for over a decade. We've been dating since before I became the Leader. This isn't new."

She looked at Karen expectantly. The older woman seemed to be contemplating this new set of events, and Misty wasn't sure she liked it. After another few moments of silence, Misty sighed. "Karen, can you say something?"

"This is just…I've never really run into this before. What is the point of keeping this a secret?"

Misty rubbed her temples trying to think of the best way to voice her concerns. "Well for one, I didn't want the media distraction, especially for Ash. I wanted him to be able to focus completely on preparing for each match. Second, we had concerns regarding the league and how they would react to a challenger being romantically involved with an Elite Four member."

Karen repeated what Brock had said, "There are no rules that prohibit it as far as I know."

Misty was becoming impatient, "Well I don't think your buddies on the board of curators care about that when it comes to what could be painted as a conflict of interest, and I know you would love to see me knocked down a peg."

Karen raised her eyebrows at the sudden hostility, "Whoa, what are you talking about?"

"Ladies," Ash said hesitantly, not really sure whether he should interrupt or not, but he was shivering and wanted a towel and to get into his clothing, "is there any way we could finish this conversation with me not in my underwear?"

The two women looked down at him, and the sudden attention caused his cheeks to turn bright red. Misty turned to Karen again and thought her gaze was lingering a bit too long on her boyfriend, and snapped her fingers in her face to bring her back to reality. Misty handed Ash her bag, "Go get dressed. I'll met up with you in a second."

As he nodded and scampered off quickly to the locker room, Karen again asked, "What are you talking about, Misty?"

Misty sighed, "Look, I've heard the rumors. You've got friends on the board who don't like me. I know you don't like me and want me out of the Elite Four. So this is pretty much what I feared since I found out Ash was going to be in this thing. Look, I don't really care what happens to me," she paused and took it back, "Well, yes, I do. I love this job, but I'm willing to take the hit if you'll just…just let us get through this. He deserves that."

"Misty, I don't know who told you I was trying to get you fired, but that's ridiculous," Karen said while looking at Misty through narrowed eyes and wagging a finger in her face. "In fact, it's a little insulting you think I would do such a thing. Even more insulting than your comment about my age."

Misty was thrown off, not really expecting that response. Still trying to process it, she slowly asked, "Well…then why are you so intent on giving me such a hard time!? You criticize every move I make. Nothing I do is good enough. Even beating you out wasn't enough to earn your respect!"

Misty's exasperated and bewildered tone got to the older Pokemon Master, and her expression softened somewhat. She could see how stressed the younger Pokemon Master was, and the fact that she thought her job was at stake actually troubled Karen. She began to consider a different approach. Carefully, Karen said, "Misty, listen, whether I like you or not really isn't the issue. I have worked with people I don't like before. They turned into long and profitable work relationships. All of the Elite Four members I have worked with throughout the years have had huge egos. Very few of us are really easy to get along with. To be perfectly honest with you, you and Brock have been the nicest Elites I have ever worked with."

She paused for a moment to take in Misty's new body language. A look of surprise had spread across her features, and she had crossed her arms across her chest to where it almost seemed she was consoling herself.

"The reason I have been hard on you is because I want you to succeed," she continued, and then saw Misty's face scrunch up into one of disbelief. "I'm serious! You're one of the most talented trainers I have ever seen. You beat all three of us handily to become the Leader. You're a lovely young woman, and I'm…not anymore. So yes, I've been a little bitter I suppose. But I also see a lot of me in you. And I was naïve at your age. I wish I'd had some guidance."

Misty was as stunned as the expression on her face looked. She stood staring at Karen, her mouth agape, for several moments after she'd finished speaking. "You could have just talked to me."

Karen nodded, "Maybe. You just seem like such a stubborn girl, that I thought being tough was the natural approach to take. That's kind of my default anyway."

Misty couldn't believe Karen was being so nice, and that they were having such a productive conversation with each other. She thought it was funny that it was all spurred by being caught at night with her boyfriend in his underwear and in Gyarados' mouth.

"Now, about this," Karen said twirling her finger in the air to indicate their present situation, "I know the answer, but I have to ask: Is this going to be an issue? If you face him, you won't let your feelings affect your performance?"

"She had better not!" They both heard coming from the entrance to the locker room area. They both turned as a fully clothed Ash strolled confidently toward them. Misty noted the seeming change in his attitude, a look of annoyance mixed with determination on his face. "I didn't come all this way and go through the number of matches I've gone through to have my girlfriend help me win by taking it easy on me! I would never have joined this tournament if I thought she could take it soft on me."

Karen nodded, impressed by the young man. And was that a pang of envy she felt toward her orange-haired colleague? "Well I can't speak for the rest of the League, but I don't have an issue with it then," she finally said, adding with a smirk, "plus you know when the media finds out, they're going to absolutely lose it. That's punishment enough!"

"That's why we don't want the media to find out…yet," Misty said, conceding that they wouldn't be able to hide it forever. But if they could keep it quiet for just another couple of days it would make life that much easier for them both.

Karen chuckled at the precocious young woman, "Alright kids. Your secret's safe with me." And with that, she set her things down and dove into the pool, and that was that.

Ash and Misty looked at each other after a moment of simply standing there stunned and then she grabbed his arm and led him back into the locker room, Pikachu still on her shoulder. They stopped and she expelled a huge breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. He sat on a bench and removed his hat to run his fingers through his hair.

"Holy shit we just dodged the biggest bullet," she said, leaning up against a locker, trying to ignore the smells of sweat mixed with shampoo that wafted through the room. "Okay, so I guess you should sneak out the back so no one sees you…"

"Are you freaking kidding me!?" Ash cut her off, bolting up and shocking her with his sudden burst of anger. "Did you not just experience what happened in there? We're off the hook! She's not going to try to get you fired! Why would we need to sneak around anymore?"

"What is your problem all of a sudden, Ash!?" she snapped back, a little more harshly than she had intended.

"My problem!? My problem is I came here to see you!" He practically yelled, ending the sentence pointing his finger in her face, which caused a scowl to form on her face one of her eyes to twitch. He continued with an elevated voice, "But instead, I got to spend time in a gyarados' mouth, got vomited into the pool, and then got embarrassed in my underwear in front of an Elite Four member. Hell, make that TWO Elite Four members!"

She smacked his hand out of her face, hard, and shoved a finger in his chest. "I'm your girlfriend, Ash!"

He brushed her hand off, "Well you're sure acting like that's an inconvenience! I did all of this to surprise you! I thought this entire week would be about our reunion and fun pokemon battles!"

"I didn't ask you to do that!" she yelled back, almost instantly wishing she could take it back.

"Then maybe I should just LEAVE!"

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD!"

"Pikapi! Pikachupi!" Pikachu finally yelled, noticing the severity of the argument was not typical.

They stopped, both of them seething at one another, breathing heavily. Both of their faces softened somewhat as they each considered apologizing, but their stubborn natures kicked in and Ash turned around and stormed out of the locker room toward the rear entrance.

"You coming, Pikachu?" he huffed as he stomped off.

Pikachu looked at Misty, silently pleading with her to stop the silly argument. She scratched him behind the ear and said, "Go on, Pikachu."

Hesitating for a moment, Pikachu nuzzled Misty's face before jumping down and following his trainer. Misty took a few steps toward the rear entrance, considering chasing Ash down too, but then balled up her fist and stormed the other way. She changed quickly, not even bothering to shower. Grabbing her belongings on the way, she barged through the locker room door causing it to smash into the wall, and stormed through the lobby and then outside into the biting night air. Pacing back and forth with her arms straight at her sides and fists balled as tightly as she could squeeze them, she screamed angrily into the night. A couple passing by looked at her with wide eyes, and she glared back.

"WHAT!?" she yelled, and the poor couple walked away as quickly as they could.

* * *

Karen had stopped swimming when she heard the rear entrance shut. Resting against the side of the pool chest deep in the water, she stared at her left hand wistfully. There was a small tan line on one of her fingers, almost imperceptible. Her expression was one of sadness and regret. She pushed herself out of the pool and walked over to her belongings, hesitating briefly before pulling her phone out of her purse. She turned it on and dialed a number. For several minutes she stood there, finger hovering over the green call button, struggling with herself. Finally, inspired by the meeting she had just had with the young couple, she pushed the button and placed the phone to her ear, anxiously waiting for the answer she hoped would come.

After three rings she almost considered hanging up, but suddenly a deep voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hi Lance."

* * *

Ash's alarm went off at 7:30 am, but he ended up not waking up until the backup alarm on his phone went off at 8:00, mostly because he broke the hotel alarm clock when he smashed it with his fist. He was still angry over what had happened the night before, but mixed in with his anger in the pit of his stomach was the feeling of deep regret. He shook his head, trying to clear the memories of the previous night. He had too much to do that morning before his match that evening. He was supposed to meet all of his friends for breakfast, minus the two he would be hopefully be battling the next day. Then he had an interview scheduled. As he understood it, they interviewed both of the finalists in the tournament the day before the Elite Four challenge. Then he had to get his pokemon prepared for his match that evening.

He dropped down and did his morning push-ups and chuckled as Pikachu got down next to him and rattled off some of his own. A shower and a shave came next, followed by throwing on his jeans, a black t shirt, and his Pokemon League jacket. Then Ash skipped out of his hotel room with the yellow mouse on his shoulder and began quickly making his way down the street toward the coffee/bagel shop where he'd agreed to meet his friends. Two reporters suddenly materialized at his side, seemingly out of nowhere, and began to pepper him with questions.

"Mr. Ketchum, what will your strategy be tonight? Mr. Ketchum will you use more than the two pokemon tonight? Mr. Ketchum, when will we meet the mystery girl?"

Ash had gotten so sick of that question. He looked down at the young reporter who got the widest eyes he think he'd ever seen as he put his small recorder up to Ash's mouth.

"You know what? I don't think my 'mystery girl' wants to even meet me anymore," he said tersely, barely even registering the small gasp Pikachu gave when he'd said it.

He left the reporters there and walked the remaining few blocks to the coffee shop. He ducked into the front door and was inundated by the strong and pleasant odor of coffee and pastries. He immediately laid eyes on his large group of friends who dominated most of the small shop: Dawn and Barry, May and Drew, Clemont and Serena, Tracey and Daisy, Max, Lucy, and his mother.

"Hi sweety, I got you a coffee," Delia said smiling and handing her son the drink as he kissed her on the cheek. He flipped his hat onto the table, sat down roughly, and scowled as he sipped his drink. Pikachu jumped onto the soft lap of his mother and curled up.

May was the first to bring up the obvious. Smiling knowingly, she asked, "So where'd you sneak off to last night, hmm?"

Ash looked at her, figured out she knew the "big secret," and then looked to Serena and his mom. "Okay, who told them?"

"Oh honey, you didn't think that would stay quiet in this group, did you?" Delia said causing everyone to laugh, and Ash to roll his eyes.

"Don't worry, Casanova, you know we're not squealing to the media," Dawn said.

"Can we talk about something else?" Ash started to ask when Serena piped up at the other end of the table.

"Ash, what does this headline mean?" Serena suddenly asked, holding her phone toward the group. Ash squinted so he could see the screen. Serena had pulled up one of the news sites that covered the League activities, and in big bold letters it read: Trouble in Paradise! Ketchum on the Outs with Mystery Girl?

The all looked at him in unison. Ash thought the group's sudden coordination looked like a ridiculous cartoon and sweat began to form on the back of his head until his mother spoke up, "Ash, honey, what's going on?"

"Come on, guys! That's tabloid nonsense!" he said frustrated.

Serena then read a quote from the article, "Speaking briefly with Ketchum earlier this morning, he confirmed to our reporter that they may be on the outs. Saying, 'I don't think my 'mystery girl' wants to even meet me anymore.'"

Ash slumped down in his seat a little bit, "I don't think I said it quite like that."

And as if to grind the point home even more, Serena then played the video attached to the article, and he reheard himself saying exactly that. The group looked at him again in unison, this time through narrowed eyes.

"Okay guys, you're going to have to stop doing that, it's weird," he complained.

Instantly his mother grabbed his ear and began scolding him, speaking very quickly, "Ash Ketchum, you do NOT speak to your mother like that. How could you say something like that to the media about poor Misty? You need to think of her feelings. How do you think she's going to feel reading that? I don't care what happened or what your silly fight was about. AH! Don't interrupt! You two have had fights for a decade and they've never meant anything! You don't get to put things into the media because you're upset! You WILL call her and you WILL apologize right now!"

The table had devolved into desperate attempts by his friends to contain their laughter as one of the most famous people in the League at that moment was being scolded by his mommy. Delia let go of her son's ear and he rubbed it, his face having turned beet red in embarrassment. In reality, Ash did want to apologize, but he really wasn't sure Misty did want to hear from him at that point. He picked up his phone and dialed Misty. After ringing briefly, the call went to Misty's outgoing voicemail message, indicating she had most likely refused the call.

"She didn't answer," he complained. "See! It's like I said! She doesn't want to see me."

"Well, buddy," Tracey said from Ash's left, "take it from someone well versed in screwing it up with the Mrs.: this may be a flowers and chocolate moment."

Daisy giggled next to her new husband, "Ash, you know my sister. She'll be mad, and then you guys will make up." Then she looked over and raised her eyebrows at him and winked, "And maybe later you'll REALLY get to make up."

Ash's face might as well have become a tomato as he stood up, grabbed his hat, downed the rest of his coffee, and announced, "Well I have some interviews to go to. I will see you all later. Let's go, Pikachu!"

"They better not REALLY do anything like that," he heard his mother announce as he rushed unceremoniously out of the small coffee shop and headed toward the nearest flower shop.

* * *

The rest of the day moved at a rapid pace for the young trainer. Ash had, for the most part, become accustomed to the busy schedule that came along with participating in the Indigo League Conference. He was still awed by the sheer number of people it took to make things work, and that wasn't even to mention the numbers of pokemon fans that had begun stuffing the stands ever since the final 16. That's when he'd been knocked out so many years ago, and he had gone into his match that day more nervous than he had for any battle in years. But it had flown by just as quickly as the last few matches had. He still hadn't had to move past his first pokemon, his recently evolved garachomp that he had wanted to acquire as much experience as possible before he potentially faced the elite four. It had actually been a happy accident that one pokemon had taken him through so many matches, but he had begun to formulate a strategy behind it: namely that he would be able to hide his team from the Elite Four until he really needed them. While he was required to register his team with the league officially, all of that information was confidential. That meant he had four wild-card pokemon that no one knew of. He just hoped he could make it to Koga with that intact.

Ash's interview was with one of the more prestigious news organizations that covered the league, so he was extremely thankful when his "secret girlfriend" never even came up. They focused on his backstory, mentioned how his mother guided him and was instrumental in his success, tried to talk about his team (which he remained mum on), and asked about his battle philosophy. Overall, he thought it would make for a nice little biopic that they would run on tv before the match that evening.

He tried to call Misty another time or two, but received similar results. He hoped he could at least talk to her to smooth things over before that evening, because if he won he would once again shake the hands of the Elite Four for a photo op and general introductions before the matches that would take place the next day. That could be awkward. _Fine then, don't answer,_ he pouted.

He decided next to get some training time in with his team of pokemon in the woods just outside of town. He had done so nearly every day of the conference if time permitted, always taking the time to bond and coach each one of his extremely powerful creatures. He found it helped them communicate better and the individual pokemon were able to stretch and exercise outside of the confinement of their Pokeballs. The wooded venue allowed him to remain discrete.

After an hour of training, he collected his team and made his way to the Pokemon Center with Pikachu draped around his neck lazily. Inside, several young trainers recognized him and asked him excitedly for autographs from he and his famous Pikachu. He happily scribbled his name on a Pokeball for the young ones, whereas Pikachu dipped his paw in ink and then smacked them. He briefly chatted with Nurse Joy as she ran Pikachu and the others through the machine, refreshing them after their training session, and then it was time to get ready for the Tournament Final.

* * *

Ash stood before the entrance to the stadium feeling the rumble of the crowd and taking in their excited roar as his challenger was announced. He hopped up and down a couple of times and craned his neck, popping it to psych himself up. He looked down to his feet and saw his little friend perform his own pre-match ritual. Feeling the familiar butterflies well up in his stomach, he finally heard his name announced and the doors opened. The cheers of the crowd hit him like a wall as he jogged into the stadium. It was a deafening roar, and he was almost compelled to cover his ears, but instead he pumped his fist in the air as Pikachu jumped up to his shoulder as he jogged to the center of the field, causing the crowd to roar even louder and begin to chant his name. He was starting to get the hang of this.

Approaching his familiar challenger, he reached out his hand and shook the brown-haired girl's hand and said, "Hello, Leaf."

"Ash," she smiled knowingly.

"I assume Gary made it here for this," he grinned, hoping his old rival and now close friend had been able to make the final.

"Of course. I wouldn't let him miss this. He and his grandfather are both right there," she said pointing to one of the corners of the stadium. Sure enough, in the front row sat the spiky haired young man and his ever-aging grandfather. Ash sighed a bit as the Professor's age was a constant reminder how quickly time was moving. He gave a big wave to them and they waved back.

"So Pallet town is pretty well represented here huh?" he said, aware that they were taking longer than the referee wanted them to.

"It's all they could talk about on the news," she replied grinning, a pride of their small town running through her spine. "Well that and your secret girlfriend. When do we get to meet her? I assume those stories today were a bit overplayed."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah I'm sure you will. We'll see."

"Alright you two, it's time," the referee finally cut in after checking his watch again. Ash held out his fist and Leaf bumped it and they moved to their respective boxes on each side of the field. He watched the ref as he held up his hand until he brought it down, yelling, "GO!"

As planned and expected, Ash released Garachomp in a flash. The dragon appeared and bellowed an enormous roar as the crowd's grew to match it. Leaf hesitated for a moment and then nodded her head determined and threw out her first pokemon. A larger-than-normal Blastoise appeared, and Ash recognized it immediately.

"Gary let you use his Blastoise!?" he yelled over to Leaf, who just winked at him. _Still trying to one-up me after all these years,_ he thought and chuckled. Ash pointed dramatically and yelled for Garachomp to use earthquake. Garachomp jumped up in the air and then brought one of his claws down, burying it hard into the ground. The field shook violently as a group of cracks raced toward the large shelled pokemon.

"Withdraw, Blastoise!" Leaf yelled, and the turtle pulled its head and limbs into its shell, which bounced around as the shockwaves from the earthquake hit it. As soon as the ground stopped shaking, the large Blastoise popped its head and limbs out and looked at the dragon with confidence. Leaf called out her next command, "Now, Ice beam!"

Blastoise inhaled deeply as frost began to form around its mouth and launched one of the larges ice beams Ash thought he had ever seen. "DODGE!" he yelled desperately, but it was too wide and too late. It clipped Garachomp's arm, spinning the dragon like a top several times before it fell to the ground. The ref peered in closely, but Garachomp stood up and slowly glowered at the large turtle across the field. The arm that had been hit hung limply, and the dragon was struggling to stay upright, but its pride would not let it drop just yet.

Ash knew one more hit would knock Garachomp out, so he wanted to make his next command count. "Hyper beam!" he yelled. His pokemon, so well trained and comfortable with his trainer as it was, had already started charging the beam attack up, and had launched it only a second after Ash gave the command. It smahed into the blastoise and rocketed it across the ring and into the corner of the field, throwing up rocks and debris as it buried slightly into the ground. Blastoise popped its head back out of the shell and smiled smugly.

"Surf, Blastoise!" Leaf yelled, seeing the opportunity to put down Ash's most used pokemon of the tournament. The giant turtle jumped, shot water into the ground out of its giant water cannons, and launched itself at Garachomp. "Now, headbutt!" The collision that followed was deafening, and it launched water, rocks, and dust into the air and briefly obscured the field. But once the air cleared, the crowd almost gasped in unison as Blastoise stood confidently over the fallen dragon pokemon.

"Garachomp is no longer able to battle!" The referee announced as Ash cursed at himself for coming into the match so cocky.

He looked down at Pikachu after recalling Garachomp and nodded, "Alright, buddy. I'd say it's time we get serious here."

The crowd roared for the fan-favorite pokemon, and Pikachu confidently scampered onto the field and glared at Gary's starter pokemon. They'd met each other several times over the years, and had known each other when they were both young when they lived in Professor Oak's lab. They'd never had anything against each other personally except for being the starting pokemon for the one-time bitter rivals. But now, since the young men were on friendly terms, the competition between Pikachu and Blastoise was one of mutual respect. Both had aged. Both were battle hardened. Both were extremely strong. And both were ready.

"Thunderbolt, Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

"Withdraw into your shell, Blastoise!" Leaf cried.

Pikachu launched itself into the air as the turtle followed its trainers command. The flash of light and the heat that radiated across the field was enormous as the bolt smacked into the water pokemon's shell. Normally this would be a devastating blow, but Ash looked with annoyance as the shell provided a perfect ground to funnel all the current straight into the ground. Blastoise followed up by blasting currents of water at the small yellow pokemon which Pikachu responded to by using agility to dodge. Ash knew that it would take an up close and personal approach to take down the opposing starter.

"Pikachu thunder!" Ash commanded, and the mouse began to charge its attack. As Ash predicted, Leaf commanded Blastoise to withdraw once again, but this time Ash had a plan. "Pikachu, jump onto the shell and aim the attack at his head! Through the opening in his shell!"

It happened quickly due to Pikachu's impressive speed, and before Leaf could counter, the massive lightning attack flowed into the large turtle pokemon. Pikachu jumped back to his side of the field watching warily for any movement from within the shell. A few moments passed until the official called out that Blastiose was finished.

The crowd roared as Pikachu winked and gave a peace sign. Ash chuckled and shook his head, "Stop grandstanding, Pikachu. We're not done yet!"

Leaf next sent out Wigglytuff. Pikachu and the normal-type exchanged tough blows, but eventually Pikachu came out on top. This was followed by Leaf's blissey, which also went down after a Pikachu iron tail found its head. However, Ash's luck in only having to use two pokemon up to that point finally ran out after an already tired Pikachu could no longer battle after getting caught in a powerful earthquake attack by Leaf's Hippowdon. Ash scrambled onto the mangled field and grabbed Pikachu and then back to his box.

"Take it easy, buddy," Ash comforted. Pikachu had taken down three very strong pokemon. He had done his job.

The crowd had quieted down, knowing this meant they'd finally get a chance to see another pokemon from this talented trainer whose celebrity was quickly growing. Ash mulled it over in his head for a moment as the crowd became increasingly anxious to see what he would send out. Some sparse chants of his name began to rise up from within the crowd as he finally made his decision.

"I choose you, Goodra!" he yelled as the large gooey dragon pokemon erupted from its Pokeball.

The crowd erupted, having not seen a goodra in the conference thus far. In fact, not many people had ever seen one before, given its relatively rare status. It was just another testament to how talented a pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum was.

Leaf was visibly stunned, not quite ready for such a versatile pokemon to be thrown at her, but she recovered quickly, ordering a double edge attack from her ground pokemon. Ash countered by commanding Goodra to use blizzard, which the pokemon launched out excitedly, seeing its first real action in weeks. The powerful ice attack decimated the hippowdon, freezing it solid in mid attack. It fell to the ground completely incapacitated.

"Hippowdon is no longer able to battle," the referee announced.

Ash was in a great position again. He still had four fresh pokemon, and he couldn't imagine Leaf throwing anything at him that could take down Goodra. His confidence was justified when Goodra swiftly took out Leaf's jolteon.

She smiled, impressed by her friend. He hadn't changed much over the years. He was still the same optimistic, excitable pokemon enthusiast that she remembered before she picked her first pokemon and left town before he'd even woken up. The sparkle in his eye was still there. She knew her chances weren't great, but she was going to give her friend the best battle she could. He wouldn't want it any other way.

"Go Venusaur!" she yelled, throwing her last pokeball into the field.

Leaf's venusaur was bigger than most venusaur. Just like Gary's blastoise, this was her starter pokemon, and it was formidable. Unfortunately for her, Goodra was still fresh as it hadn't had to expend much energy on its previous two opponents. Venusaur put up a valiant effort, as was expected, but Goodra was too versatile, knowing a mixture of powerful dragon attacks, and some fire attacks that Venusaur simply couldn't stand up to in the end.

And that was that, as the official announced that Venusaur was no longer able to battle, the stadium erupted in chants of, "Ketchum, Ketchum, Ketchum." Ash ran to his goodra and hugged it around the neck as the pokemon jumped up and down with its trainer. Pikachu had recovered enough to hang on to Ash's shoulder and squeal happily as his trainer danced. Leaf approached after recalling her pokemon and smiled brightly at her friend. She was obviously disappointed to have lost, but if she wanted anyone else to succeed, it would be her friend from Pallet town. They shook hands, and then Ash grabbed her with one arm and drew her into a friendly embrace. The rest of his friends stormed the field and crowded around him in a giant group hug. Gary, Professor Oak, and Delia all stood just outside the mass of humanity and observed the happy group, smiling brightly.

And far above the action on the field and the still roaring crowd sat the Elite Four in their suite. Koga sat stoically, as usual not showing much in terms of emotion. It was just another day to him. Karen smiled, a different perspective of the boy having been gained in the last day. Brock smiled proudly as a young man he considered to be his brother had taken one more step toward his dream. Misty sat quietly, but was unable to keep the large grin from forming across her face and the tears from sliding down her cheek.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone. Hope you're enjoying the story thus far. I hoped you liked the comedy and the drama in this chapter. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh? Those two silly kids! I hope the switch to Ash's perspective didn't feel weird. I don't see how I could have moved the plot along without doing it.**

 **I did have a question for everyone. With the Elite Four battles coming up, how would you readers like to see it done? I find it difficult to write battles, as it often turns into commands yelled - commands carried out. With three battles in succession coming up I'm planning on summarizing all but what I consider the most interesting matchups. All except for the battle with Misty of course (spoiler alert? Nah you knew it was coming. This is a prequel). That will be a long, detailed, dramatic battle. Does that sound okay? How are the battles I've written so far?**

 **I hope you like the direction I went with Karen. I feel like she's one of those difficult co-workers that, if you just talked to, you could come to some sort of an agreement with. Plus it looks like at her core she might be a bit of a hopeless romantic herself (Joy-Girl called it).**

 **Also, yes Leaf and Ash know each other. Pallet town is little. I hope it didn't seem too far out of left field.**

 **I'm glad people are pleased with the detail. Sometimes I get worried I'm putting too much dialog in and not explaining things enough. Especially after reading masterpieces like NINT's Locked Away or Sky's The Road you Choose series (seriously, go read those. They are phenomenal).**

 **I pretty much have the big events in the Elite Four battle planned, and there will be more AFTER that. Still don't know how long this will be, but stick around! Thanks for the reviews! They really do help! Okay, that's a long enough note. I'm rambling.**


	5. The Elite Four Part 1

Brock glanced over at his friend as they walked through the decorated hallway toward the elevator that would take them downstairs to the small conference room where the short meet-and-greet session would take place. Brock always liked to meet with the tournament champion. To see such talented up-and-coming trainers first hand, always brimming with exuberance and excitement, was a privilege that he felt blessed to partake in. This time was different though. This time he'd be shaking the hand of someone he always knew could make it here. This was his best friend; his brother. He couldn't think of a happier day, which was why he was slightly surprised when Misty didn't seem to be as excited as he was while on their way to congratulate Ash. He knew they were trying to keep their romantic relationship on the down-low, but that shouldn't keep her from being happy for him.

Leaning over, he asked her, "What's wrong?"

Misty slowed down slightly and Brock matched her pace. When they were far enough away from the rest of the group, Misty leaned over, "It's nothing really. Just…we had a fight last night."

Brock scrunched up his nose and then gave her a faux look of incredulity, "You and Ash fought? This is my shocked face."

That got her to chuckle, and she bopped him on the shoulder, but then more seriously she said, "It was kind of bad though."

"Was there a mallet involved?" Brock winked at her, "Because if there was no mallet, I just don't believe it was that bad."

She laughed again, and suddenly didn't look as troubled as she had. As tiring as it could be, Brock always had a knack for helping those two out. And since they always seemed to find a way to make things harder than they needed to be, he found himself doing that a lot over the years. Smiling, he just shook his head at the enigma that was his friends' relationship.

* * *

Misty blinked as the camera flash blinded her again. Another year, another round of media pictures of her and her Elite colleagues to splatter the covers of newspapers, league magazines, and websites. She didn't really understand why they needed so many, after all it's not like any of them had changed that much since the last year. She sighed and straightened out her suit again as she turned to the next camera man to smile for the picture.

The camera clicked and the flash flared and Misty blinked again, but as she did she heard the door open at the far end of the room. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision, and once it had cleared it revealed Ash walking in. He was guided by a league media relations person, and flanked by two league security guards. Misty noticed how dazed he seemed. It wasn't an expression she was unfamiliar with. Most challengers were flustered by how quickly things moved after they won the tournament. They were whisked away from friends and family to be interviewed and photographed, and the media had no qualms about making them as uncomfortable as they needed to in order to get a good story. Ash was mostly used to this treatment at some level, given his experience of having been in other league tournaments, but he'd never actually won the whole thing. And it had never been the biggest competition in the world; the Indigo League Tournament.

Her early days as the new leader of the Elite Four were brought to mind as she watched cameras flash in her boyfriend's face as he tried to field the quickly fired questions from excited reporters. It hadn't been that different for her. The media was obsessed with the fiery young gym leader turned Elite Four leader. She did her best to minimize her exposure and prevent her family and friends from being hassled. She had been lucky that Brock was accepted at the same time she was, because he handled it much better than she had and provided something of a diversion. Now her media exposure was mostly routine. Reporters would ask for her comments on different league matters, whether political or competitive. She would sponsor different events and held an annual charity dinner for aspiring young trainers who didn't have the means to begin their own pokemon journey. But the rabid wall-to-wall coverage had, thankfully, exhausted itself years ago. Now the media seemed more interested in making her a bad guy after she'd promised to crush the tournament champion. She was becoming the heel. And the face approached the group of pokemon masters.

Carrie spoke up, directing the media on what would happen next, "Okay people, the challenger will shake the hand of each member only once. You'll get one chance to take your pictures, and then he moves on to the next. No exceptions. Once that is done, the challenger will be escorted to his hotel, and you will stay here to receive instructions for tomorrow. Thanks for your cooperation!"

Ahh, Misty was so glad she'd hired that girl.

And that began the strange procession. Ash began with Koga, a man he hadn't interacted with in over a decade. Misty remembered that day fondly. It was so early in their journey together, and it was the day Ash won his sixth badge. She smiled as Ash reached out his hand, and then surprisingly the normally stoic Koga smiled at Ash.

"Mr. Ketchum, it is an honor. It has been a long time. I still remember the day you and your friends helped protect my pokemon," he reminisced as he glanced over at Brock and Misty as well. She didn't realize he'd remembered that after all these years. She barely remembered it herself.

 _Well the distant history of the trio wasn't a mystery to any of the Elite Four_ , she shrugged.

"Yes sir," Ash said, bowing slightly and then moving on to Karen.

She gave him a broad smile and a wink, "Well I'm glad it was you, Mr. Ketchum. Glad to see you more presentable."

Ash rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously as the cameras flashed. Misty rolled her eyes, imagining what the media would do with that cryptic statement. Ash moved down to Brock next.

"Well, Ash, you made it," Brock said with one of the biggest smiles Misty had ever seen on his face, "congratulations!"

"Thanks, Dr. Brocko," Ash replied with an equally wide smile, but added, "but I haven't quite made it yet." The two nodded at each other, and then performed their silly handshake with each other as the pictures kept snapping.

Misty rolled her eyes again and then found Ash standing in front of her. She looked up at her loveable goof's eyes and instantly regretted having held a grudge all day long. Like so often happened when she looked in his eyes, her breath felt like it had been stolen from her and her heart thumped. _Damn it, how does he do this?_ They stood like that for several moments, unaware of the cameras flashing all around them, unaware of anything but cerulean and brown eyes. The constant flashing and clicking of cameras finally drew her out of her trance, and she extended her hand to Ash, hoping they hadn't been gawking at each other for too long.

"Mr. Ketchum. Congratulations."

"Uhh-thanks," he said, finally snapping back to earth as well, "Miss Waterflower." After he'd responded he leaned in just a smidge and mouthed 'I'm sorry' as inconspicuously as he could. She smiled and brushed a strand of her hair over her ear while she gave the hand she was shaking a slight squeeze.

"Well that's fine then," Misty responded, for Ash, but also for the cameras, "we're going to have quite the battle, I expect."

* * *

The next morning, the papers and morning news shows all ran with "The Stare Down." They played it off as two fierce competitors testing each other's mettle and attempting to intimidate each other before a fierce competition. They recalled her statement, "I will crush them," and interpreted the long gaze the powerful challenger and the Elite Four Leader as one of animosity. Misty shook her head and laughed at how far off the whole thing had been interpreted. But she figured it was for the best. The media thought they hated each other, and that meant their little ruse had been successful. She wasn't too sure how she felt being "the bad guy" in the media, but then again she'd never aspired to be the greatest water pokemon master because she wanted a bunch of fans.

The papers couldn't find anything negative to say about Ash, however. He was truly a media darling. The articles speculating about his newly troubled love life painted a picture to their young female audience of a man who might possibly be the most eligible bachelor in Kanto very soon. Those concerned with the actual sport he was participating in attempted to pick apart his unorthodox battle style while endeavoring to speculate at what the rest of his team of pokemon consisted of.

She found herself pondering the same thing as she scribbled notes in a notepad while glancing back and forth between two computer monitors. Carrie came in the office with a stack of papers and laid them on the large mahogany desk with a _thud._

"Here you are, ma'am," she said as she straightened out her blouse, "those are the last of the official battle records I could find for Mr. Ketchum."

Misty peered at the stack of papers over her reading glasses and blew strand of hair out of her face. "Thanks, Carrie," she said while grabbing the top file off of the stack and began to ingest some of Ash's battles from the Unova league. She had been up since early in the morning for her final preparations for the potential battle that night. Misty had seen most of Ash's early battles and had a few basic sparring sessions with him in preparation for her Elite Four trials. She also knew almost all of his pokemon from the innumerable visits to Pallet Town in recent years. But after she'd gone back to the Cerulean gym she hadn't been as up to date on his battle strategies and team composition. She knew Ash the loveable, caring, selfless goofball, but she had spent several hours the night before and that morning acquainting herself with Ash the pokemon trainer.

Carrie lingered for a bit before finally asking tentatively, "The tabloids sure look ridiculous this morning, don't they?"

Misty paused for a moment and put her tongue in her cheek, "Yeah I suppose they do."

She continued on with her work for another moment, but then realized that Carrie wasn't leaving. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about, Carrie?"

Carrie hesitated for a moment, but then finally asked her, "Are you okay? The papers ran a pretty hurtful quote yesterday…" She stopped short, not completely sure how to further broach the subject.

Misty smiled at her young secretary, flattered that she cared. At least Carrie was still her fan. "I was mad for a little while. But I'm okay now," she said as she touched the petals on one of the flowers in the huge bouquet that now sat in a vase on the edge of her desk. She smiled as a wave of nostalgia washed over her and continued, "We've always had an…interesting way of dealing with each other."

"How do you know when...How do you know when you're in love with someone?" Carrie stammered.

Misty was taken aback a bit by the question. She hadn't expected her employee to come to her with questions about relationships. "Well, I don't really know exactly how to answer that. For me it wasn't too long after I realized I'd jump into freezing water to rescue someone that I realized what I had been feeling was love. I don't know if I can pinpoint an exact moment. I'm not even sure love is always about your feelings. Sure it starts there, perhaps, but as you saw in the last couple of days, you don't always _feel_ it. But even when the feeling is weak, you still know that things are going to be okay. You know what I mean?"

Carrie nodded thoughtfully before asking, "Is this weird for you?"

"What, battling Ash?" She laughed, "It actually won't be that different that at any other time during our relationship." Misty realized that she'd actually never officially 100% confirmed Carrie's suspicions till then when she saw the slightly raised eyebrows and the knowing look that followed, but she figured she basically knew since fielding Delia's phone call days before.

"You know what, Carrie? I can take a break for a bit. Sit down for a moment and let me tell you about some of the adventures of Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower."

* * *

The afternoon was cool. The temperature had already started dropping, and it portended a cold night to come. Ash sat on a bench just outside of the field entrance, his head low and his arms resting on his knees. One leg jumped up and down as he simply tried to focus. He counted his breaths as he tried to clear his mind, but it was difficult over the loud announcements, music, and other festivities happening in the stadium. The crowd was being excited by highlights and clips from his time in the Conference up until that part, and as his phone beeped, indicating he had only a few minutes before he was to appear on the field for the biggest moment of his life, the crowd roared again as chants of his name rose throughout the stadium.

"Mr. Ketchum, it's time," said one of the event staff assigned to him. He looked up and nodded and held out his arm as Pikachu scrambled up it to perch on his shoulder.

The doors opened and light flooded into the dark hallway as Ash emerged into a raucous atmosphere. The crowd noise was even louder than the night before, and it was only the first of four battles he'd hopefully be partaking in. To his left he saw the makeshift "Pokemon Center" where they would heal his pokemon in between matches, assuming none were too grievously injured. He grabbed the brim of his hat and straightened it, mostly out of nervousness, and approached the decorated pokeball painted at midfield.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your tournament champion, Ash Ketchum!" The loudspeakers blared the familiar voice of the stadium announcer, followed by ever louder cheers.

Ash intended to ignore the crowd to the best of his abilities as he stared straight ahead, awaiting his first opponent. After what seemed an eternity, the doors on the other side of the field slid open, and Koga stepped out onto the field. The crowd applauded loudly, but it was nowhere near the intensity as when Ash had entered. They were there to see him.

Koga approached the center of the ring and extended his hand to Ash, who reciprocated. Neither said a word, but they nodded at each other respectfully and both turned to take their places on their respective sides of the field.

"Are you ready, folks!?" the speakers blared, and the crowd erupted. "Then let's begin the 105th Annual Elite Four Challenge!"

Fireworks shot out of the top of the stadium and loudly boomed as familiar Pokemon League music blared. The field judge approached his position and lowered his arm, signifying the beginning of the match. And thus began Ash's battle with the Elite Four.

"Let's get em, Garachomp!" Ash announced, tossing the pokeball onto the field. Garachomp appeared in a flash of familiar red and roared intimidatingly.

Koga tossed out his first pokeball, and announced, "Tentacruel, go!"

Ash hadn't expected a tentacruel, and didn't think he'd ever heard of Koga using one, but he knew that there were some type advantage moves that the poisonous water pokemon could use that not many others could. Ash smiled to himself. _I'll just have to get rid of it before it can use any._

Koga wasted no time in initiating the battle, "Ice beam!"

Ash had to react quickly, knowing how much the same move had hurt Garachomp the night before. "Quick, launch fire blast right at that beam! We'll melt through it!"

Both attacks launched from each respective pokemon as the crowd quieted significantly as they held their breath for the exciting two first attacks. The blasts hit one another and sent off steam and sparks. Garachomp continued to pour fire directly at the oncoming beam of cold, and it seemed to be making headway against the tentacruel's attack. But suddenly the fire pouring out of the mouth of the dragon pokemon broke through the ice beam. It slammed into the water pokemon and seemed to explode as it launched the tentacruel to the far end of the field. Steam and smoke billowed off of the fallen pokemon as everything seemed to go still in the stadium briefly. The field judge craned his neck subconsciously and just stared at the fallen water type, initially not believing what he saw, but soon held up his hand and said, "Tentacruel is no longer able to battle!"

The crowd erupted. Ash had taken out Koga's first pokemon with one shot! As often as people had seen that throughout the conference, for it to happen to an Elite Four member's first pokemon deployed, well it had never been seen before. It was an unprecedented way to start the match, and Ash couldn't help but smirk. Could he just brute force his way through this match?

If Koga had been shocked by this development, his expression didn't show it. He calmly recalled his tentacruel and threw out his next pokeball. Ash recognized the Venomoth immediately. One of Koga's oldest and most experienced pokemon; it was not to be underestimated.

"Psychic!" Koga quickly commanded the bug pokemon.

Ash yelled for Garachomp to fly out of Venomoth's range, but it was caught midair as a purple glow surrounded the large dragon type. Garachomp struggled for a moment before beginning to be launched around the field and violently slammed into the ground. Ash didn't remember ever seeing a venomoth with such a powerful psychic ability, but he had to quickly shake off his shock and get the match back in his control.

"Garachomp, block the psychic attack with protect!"

A translucent energy field formed between the bug and dragon and the purple haze that had surrounded Garachomp faded. It picked itself off the ground and roared defiantly at the moth like pokemon. "Fire blast, Garachomp!"

Koga commanded his venomoth to counter with double team. The bug pokemon began moving around the field very rapidly, causing confusing afterimages to appear as Garachomp threw fire blast after fire blast after them in a fruitless effort to hit the bug. Ash gritted his teeth and knew that Garachomp was going to begin having stamina issues if it kept firing full power fire attacks around the field. It was getting them nowhere.

"Zen headbutt," Koga said to his pokemon calmly, which was followed by the quick-moving pokemon suddenly slamming into the side of Garachomp, its head glowing with the familiar purple haze. Ripples of purple psychic energy reverberated through the side of the dragon pokemon, and it landed on the ground in a heap.

"C'mon, Garachomp, I think you've got one more attack in you!" Ash called out encouragingly to the tired dragon pokemon. Slowly but surely the large purple pokemon pushed itself off of the ground and glared menacingly at the moth that was currently getting the better of it.

"Give a draco meteor attack! Spread it around the whole field. It can't dodge with nowhere to run!" Ash yelled. Garachomp opened its mouth and formed a large orange energy orb at in its mouth. It grew 2, 3, 4 times the size of a beachball, and Garachomp then launched it into the air where it split into several dozen blazing orbs of energy that began hurtling toward the field. Ash backed off of his spot, not wanting to give any of the energy meteors a chance to hit him, and he saw Koga take a few steps backward as well before both trainers were compelled to shield their eyes from the bright flashes that came. The sound of the many orbs of energy smashing into the field was deafening, and lasted for several seconds. After they finally subsided, Ash looked over his arm which he had used to shield his eyes and saw the mothlike pokemon down near his trainer's box. A heavily breathing Garachomp still stood.

"Venomoth is no longer able to battle," the field judge announced.

The crowd popped again, but was suddenly quieted when Garachomp suddenly collapsed. It was exhausted from the several psychic attacks, as well as expending much of its energy trying to catch the venomoth with full powered fire attacks. As strong as Garachomp was, it was accustomed to quickly dispatching its foes. Since it was relatively newly evolved, Ash knew stamina was going to be an issue in longer battles.

The field judge waited a moment, and then determined that Garachomp was no longer fit to battle. Ash recalled his powerful dragon, thanking him and imploring him to rest for, hopefully, the next opponent.

Ash had five pokemon remaining to Koga's four, so he was still in a good spot. The poison-type expert calmly threw out his next pokeball, and a large stinky purple pile of Muk appeared on the field. Its skin (if you could call it that) bubbled and released one of the most noxious odors Ash had ever encountered. He shuddered as he fumbled with one of his pokeballs, enlarging it and then tossing it onto the field. Goodra appeared with a growl and a smile.

* * *

Misty scribbled in a notepad vigorously as Goodra and Muk began their battle. She had decided to forego sitting with the group of friends who had again taken Brock's offer of sitting in the Elite Four section and had decided to take in the matches from the Elite box suite. It was quieter and she avoided the attention of the crowd. She could focus completely on the matches as she attempted to chart the last few examples of Ash's battle strategy before, hopefully, actually facing him herself.

She was so engrossed in the battle she didn't hear the door behind her open and close, and so jumped when the person who entered said something to her.

"Brock, you scared me," she turned and glared at him as he held up his hands in faux defense.

"Sorry, Misty. Just coming to see how you're doing. You're the only one in here. Everyone else is having a blast down in the stands."

"Yeah, I'm just trying to focus," she replied as she took her reading glasses off and rubbed her eyes, one of which she was still trying to keep on the match.

"I don't think you've ever put this many hours into studying an opponent," Brock commented with a smirk. "Carrie told me you've been at this for twelve hours."

"I don't think we've seen a challenger quite like Ash before, Brock," she said, and Brock detected an air of admiration in the statement. "He's so much better than he was even in Kalos. He's ripped through all of his competition, and look, he just beat Koga's muk and his goodra isn't even breathing hard. When was the last time you saw Koga so outclassed?"

"You're right," Brock replied, "he's very talented. He always has been. But I think this time around he's taken it to another level. I look forward to our match." He looked at her, "I look forward to your match."

"So you think…?" she started, but didn't have to finish.

"Yeah. I think he's better than Karen, and he's better than me. Not that I'm not going to give him all Dr. Brock's Super Elite Squad has to offer," she bopped him on the arm as he cited his ridiculous pokemon squad name, "but the few hours I've spent preparing, I just think all of us are probably outclassed. Except you. That's going to be a good match. But we've kind of always known this about him, haven't we?"

Misty bit her lip nervously as she shifted her attention back to the ongoing battle between Goodra and Koga's fourth pokemon, toxicroak. As the probability of facing Ash grew, the butterflies in her stomach intensified. She wasn't sure she was entirely comfortable with this anymore.

* * *

"Skunktank is no longer able to battle," the field judge announced as Koga recalled his fifth pokemon. He honestly couldn't remember the last time his team of highly trained and highly experienced pokemon had been so thoroughly decimated. He had not even been able to take down two of the challenger's pokemon. _Astounding._

"Crobat," he said as he released his final pokemon for battle.

The purple four-winged bat pokemon appeared and screeched at Goodra. Everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to a bit of a commotion on Ash's side of the field as Pikachu jumped down onto the field and pointed at Goodra and then back at Ash. Goodra looked at his trainer quizzically as he was now receiving orders from another pokemon. Ash chuckled a bit. "Hey Goodra, you want a break? Pikachu is tired of just sitting here." Goodra shrugged and Ash took that as a "yes" and called him back. The crowd cheered as the popular yellow mouse strolled confidently onto the field. He waved at both sides of the stadium as Ash shook his head. "Stop cheesing it, Pikachu! We gotta take this seriously."

Koga took the opportunity to command his crobat to launch a cross poison attack, and initially it looked like it had hit. But much like venomoth earlier in the match, Pikachu's speed allowed him to leave confusing afterimages on the field, and that's all crobat was able to hit. The purple flying pokemon scanned the field, as did his trainer, trying to spot the brightly colored rodent.

Koga abruptly yelled, "Above you, crobat!" But it was too late. Pikachu landed a devastating volt tackle against the bat pokemon, driving it into the ground. He flipped a few times on the rebound and landed on his two hind paws and bowed to the crowd, which happily obliged his showmanship by showering him with cheers, chanting his name.

 _Ugh, they're encouraging him,_ Ash thought as a sweat drop fell from the back of his head.

"Crobat is no longer able to battle. Elite Four Koga has no remaining pokemon. Therefore the challenger is the winner!"

* * *

Ash had thirty minutes to prepare for the next match. He healed up Goodra and Garachomp and made sure Pikachu wasn't too tired from his battle. The yellow pokemon of course informed him that he hadn't even broken a sweat. He took a few moments to take in the amazing spectacle around him. It was approaching mid-afternoon, and he knew soon that the stadium lights would take over as the night overtook the rest of the world. But in that stadium, his chance at fulfilling his dream was only just beginning.

He grabbed a bottle of water and made his way back onto the field as the thirty minute break neared its end. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he patiently waited for Karen to appear at the other end of the stadium. When she finally did, she was introduced to the crowd, which cheered for the popular long-term Elite Four member as information about her career flashed across the large stadium screens. She had been the leader of the Elite Four when Lance had been the champion, and then even after he'd retired she had been the leader until Misty knocked her out of the spot. Ash vaguely recalled how strange it had been when Lance had retired as champion, but many said it was for personal reasons. He had been champion for almost a decade, and there hadn't been one since. Ash aimed to change that, and it started with beating one of the strongest pokemon masters on the planet.

He and Karen both approached the middle of the field and she smiled at him. "You've done quite well, Ash. But I don't think you're going to get away with using only three pokemon this time," she winked.

"Thanks for the other night and…not being malicious," Ash said, blushing a little at the memory.

She waved her hand and said somewhat cryptically, "Honestly you two inspired me. I did see the headlines though regarding you two. Is everything okay?"

Genuine concern was etched across her face. Ash rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah I think so. This whole thing has been a little stressful I guess."

The field judge approached the two and informed them that it was time to begin the match. Ash and Karen shook hands and then took their respective places on the field. Karen threw her first pokeball onto the field, and a spiritomb appeared. Ash shuddered slightly, as the ghost pokemon always gave him the creeps. As had been the case in every other match, he threw out his garachomp, and the match started.

"Confuse ray!" Karen shouted, spurring her pokemon to beign the battle.

A purplish beam struck Garachomp and it suddenly grabbed its head and began to stagger around, smacking itself in the face while trying to clear its head.

Ash quickly responded, "Shake off that confusion, Garachomp. Get ahold of yourself and launch a flamethrower!"

Garachomp opened its mouth and flames billowed out of it, but not in the typical fashion Ash was used to. Garachomp was shaking its head as it launched the powerful fire attack, causing it to spread across the field inconsistently. Some of it did do some damage to the spiritomb, but it wasn't the focused blast Ash wanted. To add to the frustration, some of the fire hit Garachomp's fin-like tail, burning it slightly.

As this scene was going on, Karen decided to take advantage of the confused state of the powerful dragon and ordered her pokemon to sucker punch. The ghost wafted across the field, but then materialized fully in front of Garachomp and smacked it across the face in its newly solid state. Suddenly, Garachomp reached out and grabbed the ghost, which had not yet reverted to its vaporous state, and launched a flamethrower at the extremely close range. The crowd erupted at the well-trained pokemon's ad-libbed attack as the spiritomb misted back to its base burned and hurt.

Karen did not seem flustered, however, as she commanded, "Pain split!"

 _Oh no,_ was all Ash could think while he watched Garachomp be drained of its stamina and the spiritomb all of a sudden look much much healthier. Ash knew he had to move rapidly if he wanted to salvage this round, so he quickly commanded Garachomp to fly up and use draco meteor. His tired dragon laboriously lifted itself into the sky and launched the multi-projectile attack at the ghost pokemon.

Karen quickly called out for a shadow ball attack, which Spiritomb launched simultaneously with draco meteor. The single dark orb rushed through the bright meteor-like projectiles and smashed into Garachomp as the dragon pokemon's attack also hit the ghost pokemon below. Garachomp began to plummet toward the ground, but was quickly enveloped in a beam of red light and was returned to its pokeball. The spiritomb's wispy body lay flat on the ground and was not moving.

"Neither pokemon is able to continue battling. Bring out your next pokemon," the field judge announced.

Ash had already begun fishing for his next pokeball as Karen withdrew her pokemon and threw out a new pokeball. A houndoom appeared with a flash and a howl. Goodra appeared in a flash as Ash was still determined to not reveal any more of his team until he absolutely had to.

The two pokemon began to battle, each responding to the quick and definite prompts from the two talented trainers. Houndoom landed several strong fire attacks, but was eventually overpowered by a water attack from the mouth of the gooey pokemon. Karen's next pokemon was weaville, and its strong ice attacks proved to be too much for type-disadvantaged dragon, and Goodra went down for just the second time. Pikachu sauntered out onto the field again, soaking in the crowd's fierce cheers. Ash simply facepalmed as he quickly commanded his oldest pokemon to use its powerful lightning attacks. Pikachu quickly felled the tricky dark/ice type, but its battle with Karen's next pokemon, an umbreon, was more protracted. Pikachu absorbed a few powerful payback attacks as umbreon tried to use Pikachu's speed against it. But Pikachu finally was able to fell the dark eeveelution with a powerful thunder attack. Honchcrow was next, but its type disadvantage and Pikachu's speed was simply too much for Karen's fifth pokemon as well.

Pikachu was panting heavily after having taken out three extremely powerful pokemon. Ash asked him if he was okay to keep going, and Pikachu simply looked back at him over his shoulder and gave him a look, which Ash knew too well. Pikachu wasn't coming out of the match until he had to.

Karen moved the several strands of hair that had fallen into her eyes behind an ear and wiped her palms on her shirt. If she hadn't been flustered earlier in the match, she was now. Just as the matches Ash had won throughout the week had gone, she too had been thoroughly decimated until that point. Her vow to delve deeper into Ash's team hadn't even come true. It was up to her absol to try to bring her back from the brink.

The furry white pokemon emerged from its ball as Karen commanded a quick attack. The absol began darting around the field and lashing out at Pikachu. Pikachu, to his credit, used his formidable speed to dodge many of Absol's attacks, but after having faced three pokemon already, his stamina was running low, and the absol began landing attacks.

One last thunderbolt was all Pikachu could muster up as a response before he went down. Ash, knowing he'd have to run his pokeballs through the mobile Poke Center to heal his pokemon, called Pikachu back into his pokeball. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd done that, and knew his long-time partner would give him hell for it later.

Karen had kept true to her promise and was forcing Ash to reveal another pokemon in his lineup. He stood for a moment deliberating which one he was most willing to reveal. Most people had at least some knowledge of his typical powerhouses, but he did have a couple of surprises still in store for people, so he decided to go with one who he'd used recently, and successfully as well.

"Let's go, Greninja!"

The elegant blue water pokemon appeared and quickly took a battle stance as the crowd erupted. Ash could tell the crowd going crazy was going to be a thing every time he revealed a new pokemon. Absol was a fast pokemon, but Ash's greninja was a blur on the field. Its powerful water attacks seemed to be launched from every angle as it quickly and methodically whittled the absol down. Absol was already on its heels when Ash called for a giga impact, looking to finish the fight. Using its speed and momentum, Greninja plowed into the dark-type and launched him across the field, right to the feet of its trainer.

"Absol is no longer able to battle! Elite Four Karen has no useable pokemon! Therefore, Challenger Ash Ketchum is the winner!"

The crowd lit up again in furious cheers as Greninja approached his trainer and got a big hug for his efforts. "Good job as always, buddy. Let's get you guys healed up."

Karen approached Ash and extended her hand while shaking her head slightly, "Those are some remarkably well-trained pokemon, Ash. I don't remember the last time my team was so handily beaten."

"Well you got me to reveal another pokemon, like you said," Ash said smiling.

Karen chuckled and waved her hand, "I guess I'll have to settle for moral victories at this point. Congratulations, Ash. And good luck. Not just on your next battle, but in everything."

"Thanks, Karen," he replied.

Ash turned and headed toward the mobile Poke Center and handed his pokeballs to the attending Nurse Joy. He was halfway there. Now all he had to do was beat his best friend...and then the love of his life. That should be fun. Right?

* * *

 **Note: I hope everyone likes the battle sequences here. This chapter was a bit of a chore, as I think everyone who writes battle sequences can attest to. I'm really looking forward to the battle with Misty, however. I have some fun surprises in mind.**

 **One thing I wanted the reviewers' opinion on was regarding Ash's team. I have 5 of 6 spots solidified (and have revealed 4 of his pokemon already). I want some help in determining the 6th one. I don't want a specific pokemon suggested. All I want to know is this: Should I use a pokemon that is familiar and that Ash has used in the anime before? Or should I use an entirely new pokemon that I happen to like but Ash hasn't used in canon? Or do you even care?**

 **A shout out to** **legionaireofthe10th and his description of Ash and Misty's relationship as an "enigma." I hope he doesn't mind me borrowing his description, but it's just too perfect. I also wanted to plug his brilliant fanfic In Love and War. It is another one of those Pokeshipping masterpieces. Go read it and review it.**

 **Also leave reviews here if you'd like. They always help with the motivation side of things.**


	6. The Elite Four Part 2: Ash vs Brock

Brock Harrison had fulfilled his dream at a relatively young age. After several years of traveling with a young man through several regions, not really knowing exactly what he himself wanted to do, he had finally made a decision to go to college and pursue a carreer as a pokemon doctor. He eventually left that young man as their paths diverged at that point. Several years later he had achieved his goal, and soon after he set up a successful medical practice at the Pewter City Pokemon Center. He worked hard and made quite a name for himself treating a who's who of high profile pokemon, and had developed a reputation as a leading and innovative mind in pokemon medicine. But Brock had also been a gym leader as a young man, and as far removed as he was from being a competitive battler, he still had a competitive itch that never seemed to go away. So he kept training his team and often had impromptu pokemon battles in his free time, most notably with some of his friends. If for nothing else than he loved helping them prepare for big matches or just to bond with them in general. Ash and Misty were his most frequent competition, and while he was not a professional trainer at that time, he was still very good, and held his own against the two up-and-coming trainers.

That had been Brock's life for several years, until Misty informed him of the league's intent to fill two vacancies on the Elite Four. She had come to him with the information she'd printed and had practically thrown it in his face. The prospect of replacing her role model on the Elite Four, the stunning ice trainer Lorelei, was overwhelmingly exciting to his younger friend. Brock encouraged her enthusiasm, and he had told her he'd do whatever he could to help her prepare. But there were two spots to fill, as Bruno had also decided to move on, and he was intrigued by the opportunity. He didn't want to cease his practice as a pokemon doctor, but he knew the Elite Four members were able to pursue their interests in the League's offseason, and it provided a platform to not only reach out and inspire others, but to also bring awareness to different professions within the world of pokemon. He wondered at the prospects of introducing pokemon medicine to a whole new generation of young trainers, while being an example of how to train and battle pokemon humanely from the bully pulpit that is the Elite Four.

And so, shortly after Misty announced her intentions, Brock also applied for the Elite Four as well. He and Misty had buckled down and began studying intensely and using their close proximity to their advantage in order to help one another prepare for the grueling tests that would await them when they appeared in front of the League president and curators for their interviews. Once Misty had told Ash what they were doing during one of their many video phone calls, Ash had decided to use his time after his stint in Kalos to help them as well. He stayed at the gym in Cerulean City, so he was with Misty more than he was with Brock, but Brock didn't mind. He just enjoyed the time he had with his two friends after so many years. It was like old times. And just like old times, he saw the obvious spark between his two younger friends reignite. Only this time they were older and more mature. So, it came as no surprise that one of the days he made his way to the Cerulean Gym that there was quite a bit more physical contact between the two of them than there had been the time before.

Brock smiled at the memory as he made his way through the stadium hallways and toward the elevator that would take him to the ground level. It was all history after that. He and Misty had been far better prepared than almost all the other applicants, and they both credited Ash and his vast knowledge of pokemon and his unorthodox battle advice with putting them over the edge. Of course, short scrims in a gym were nothing akin to full blown six on six pokemon battles, and Brock honestly couldn't remember the last time he and Ash had actually had a proper battle.

"Ten minutes, sir," said Brock's assistant as they entered the elevator. He nodded and adjusted his pokeball belt.

Brock thought it was a little ironic. The young man who'd spurred Brock on to achieve his dreams was now going to face him to achieve his. Brock pondered on how appropriate it was, and vowed to do the only thing he could do now for his friend. Give him the match he deserved.

* * *

Ash's nerves were a little on edge, but not to the extent that he had imagined them being when wondering about the prospect of facing one of his best friends in the pursuit of his dream to be a pokemon master. The crowd was still settling in after the short intermission, and the afternoon was in the process of turning into evening. The sun had begun to approach the top of the stadium, and he knew soon that the stadium lights would take over. The weather had begun to cool again and he was glad that he had a jacket and gloves as his typical attire.

His attention was drawn to the stadium monitors as league music began to blare the familiar league theme and Brock's face took over the display along with statistics and information about his history. Then the man himself entered the field to thunderous applause. Brock's easy going demeanor and sense of humor had made him a fan favorite since he had become a member of the vaunted organization, and many in the medical field credited him with a renewed interest in the discipline.

The two long-time friends approached the center of the field for the customary handshake.

"Ash," Brock said smiling widely.

"Brocko," Ash responded with an equally large smile. And that was all they needed. They fist bumped and then walked to their respective sides of the field. The mutual respect was already understood.

The official lowered his hand and started the match, and Brock threw out his first pokeball. His golem appeared in a flash of red. Ash, of course, was well acquainted with this pokemon. It had evolved from Brock's geodude, the first pokemon Ash ever faced in a gym battle. Smiling at the memory, Ash sent out Goodra as his first pokemon.

"All right, Golem, let's start off with a stone edge!" Brock commanded.

"Goodra, dodge and use ice beam!" Ash responded as Golem began to summon sharp rocks to launch at his pokemon.

The two pokemon began to act. As the stone edge rocks were launched at Goodra, it dodged to the left. The rocks kept coming and Goodra had to keep moving or be struck. Goodra launched ice beam on the run, just clipping the large rock pokemon as its aim was thrown off when some of the sharp rocks finally clipped the dragon's tail.

"Protect, Goodra! Then charge in with a body slam!"

The barrage of rock shards kept coming as if they'd never stop while Goodra formed a protective barrier in front of himself and pushed into the barrage. The shards began to break up and smaller and smaller fragments began to litter the field, but Goodra's protect was deflecting any damage that might come from his front.

"Golem, hit it with a heavy slam!" Brock commanded. Golem jumped into the air and surrounded itself in a yellowish aura before dropping straight down toward Goodra who was in the middle of adjusting its course on its own physical attack. The two met in the air to a deafening crash as Goodra's protective barrier smashed to bits and the dragon pokemon was thrown violently into the ground. Golem was launched backward and made an impressive crater in front of Brock, its outer shell slightly cracked.

Both trainers held their breath as their initial pokemon were both down until they both began to stir. Goodra and Golem both stood, each of them having considerable trouble standing up straight.

"Dragon pulse!" Ash urged while Brock yelled out for his pokemon to perform a thunder punch.

The two pokemon launched their attacks. Goodra fired an enormous and bright beam of dragon energy from its mouth while Golem thrust its fist, crackling with electricity, forward. Fist met beam as Golem attempted to push through the powerful blast. Golem finally reached Goodra and impacted the dragon's face with a crackling boom. The force of the dragon pulse finally knocked back the large round pokemon as well, and once again both pokemon were down on the ground as their trainers urged them to get up.

Goodra was up first, rubbing its jaw and cringing under the pain. He glared determinedly at the rock pokemon who was also in the process of standing. Brock contemplated the situation. Both pokemon seemed evenly matched, but it looked like Goodra was beginning to take an edge in the battle. Brock decided that there was only one strategically sound move to make at that point.

"Golem, use explosion!"

"What!?" Ash yelped, not quite expecting the kamikaze move from Brock. He watched helplessly as the first pokemon he'd ever faced in a gym battle began to glow until it gave off an enormous explosion. The next thing Ash knew he was looking up at the darkening sky through the roof of the uncovered stadium while Pikachu pushed at his arm. His ears ringing, he sat up and gazed over at the field of play. Both Goodra and Golem were flat on their faces, and he wasn't surprised when the referee declared both pokemon unable to continue battling. Ash figured Brock had seen what he'd seen, Goodra was going to come out on top of that battle, so Brock had determined to take the dragon type down with Golem. _Smart._

"Thanks, buddy," Brock said to his pokemon as he recalled it before releasing his next pokeball onto the field. "Let's go, Tyrannitar!"

Ash pondered for a moment before releasing his next pokemon onto the field. Garachomp appeared with a roar and glared at his large new opponent. Both trainers loudly ordered the powerful pokemon to attack with crunch attacks. The two lunged at each other and both grabbed their opponents claws and locked in a battle of strength in the middle of the field. Large jaws chomped at each other from inches away as each pokemon attempted to overpower the other in the struggle to complete their attack. This lasted for more than either trainer was comfortable with, as the brute strength of each pokemon seemed to be even.

"Hyper beam, Tyrannitar!"

"You too, Garachomp! Right in his face!"

Still locked in their battle of grips, each pokemon began to charge up the powerful beam attacks simultaneously. The attacks went off at the same time, each pokemon inches from the other. Beams collided with a brilliant flash and the two powerhouses were flung backward toward their respective trainers. Slowly, but with gritty determination, both pokemon stood up. The damage was evident to each side as both of the pokemons' faces were charred and each seemed to wobble slightly in their attempt to stand tall. Ash quickly commanded a dragon rush attack while Brock countered with stone edge. Garachomp leaped into the air and then aimed its descent at its opponent. Glowing a bright blue, it quickly sped toward the rock type, looking to smash directly into it. The tyrannitar stomped the ground, causing shards of rock to float in the air as it launched them toward the approaching dragon. Garachomp took the attack head on as it continued its charge. Brocks eyes grew large (as large as they can at least) as Ash's garachomp flew through one of his pokemon's strongest attacks and smashed into it in the middle of the field. The two tumbled and bounced along the ground as they ended up on their backs close to Brock's trainer box. Tyrannitar began to raise itself off the ground, followed shortly by Garachomp. They growled at one another and then, without a command, again locked each other in a battle of grips. Both pokemon were exhausted, but neither wanted to go down.

"Ice fang," Brock yelled, wanting to finish off the dragon type with a move it would be weak against.

Tyrannitar dug its fangs, which were giving off a slight mist from the frost that had developed within them, into the shoulder of Garachomp, who roared in pain. Neither pokemon broke from their battle of strength, however, and Ash ordered Garachomp to perform take down. It used whatever strength it could muster and pushed the tyrannitar along the field until it was able to leap slightly and drive the rock type into the ground. They both laid there for several moments before the referee decided that neither one would be able to continue battling. It was another tie.

The crowd applauded wildly as the unique match unfolded before them. Ash recalled Garachomp as he puffed his cheeks and released a breath. Grumbling ever so slightly, he released his next pokemon.

* * *

Delia rarely focused too hard on the action in Ash's matches. She simply never had the same enthusiasm for the sport of pokemon battling as her son. But she did like to watch her son. She loved seeing his face light up as he succeeded. She suffered with him when she saw disappointment, but the moments of euphoria she saw him experience made Delia's existence even more worthwhile. But as she watched his face from the stands, Delia saw it in her son's eyes again. No one else ever saw it. Ash had a masterfully cheery demeanor that he'd built into a great optimistic poker face. But a mother notices things in her children that other people normally don't. She'd noticed immediately when Ash's jawline began to sharpen. She'd noticed when he finally began glancing at girls differently than he had before. She'd noticed his deep disappointment behind his air of optimism after each league loss. But then she'd noticed his youthful enthusiasm take over and his excitement for a new challenge overtake the disappointment. There was a consistency in her son that she'd gotten used to. He was unwavering. He… _was_.

But then she'd noticed something different when he'd come home from Unova. She'd noticed a different look when he dropped his bags on the floor of the house. When he slumped down on the couch after another failure. When he gave her his sideways smile and assured her he was just as optimistic as before. When he'd lied about being excited to try his luck in the Kalos league. He may have fooled everyone else, but he didn't fool her. He looked…resigned.

Then, after a year in Kalos, he returned. Again, he'd lost at the precipice of achieving his goal. He didn't try to fake optimism to her that time. Even when he told her of all the exciting journeys he'd had, the new friends he had met, the powerful pokemon he had trained, the first kiss he had received, he had just shrugged. He wasn't excited. He said he was tired, but she knew that wasn't it. He was resigned. Had he simply decided that this was going to be his routine throughout life?

Then all of that seemed to vanish for a time. He'd found a new place to spend his time, and she could tell that it meant just as much to him as becoming a pokemon master himself. He began to spend more time with his oldest friends as they prepared for their own lofty goal. She began to notice the joy in his eyes. The sense of purpose had returned. The air of resignation all but vanished. He began spending all of his time in Cerulean City with Brock and Misty. For almost a year. And then one day she noticed something more. Something she'd longed to see for a very long time. She noticed her son had fallen in love.

So that's why their conversation the night before hadn't surprised her. She had made her way to his room shortly after all of the festivities with the media had ended, just to catch up. She knew she had scolded him regarding his personal life, and she wanted to give him encouragement before the biggest day of his life came.

"How are things with Misty, son?"

He shrugged, "I think we're okay. I sent her flowers and told her I was sorry. She seemed to feel better at the photo session, but we probably won't be able to talk to each other for at least another couple of days."

She noticed the frustrated sigh he let go as he finished his explanation to her.

"You know," he continued, "I've decided that this is it."

"What do you mean, son?"

"This," he replied, twirling his finger in the air to indicate the present circumstances. "Tomorrow is it. I'm not going to try again if I lose tomorrow."

The announcement lingered in the air for a moment as it sank in. She wasn't really surprised, but it was still a bit jarring to hear from her son after so many years that he was going to quit trying to win a Pokemon League championship.

"I've done this for over ten years. I've traveled the world. I've experienced so much," he looked up and closed his eyes as if he were reliving the entire experience in that moment, "I guess I'm tired. Not to mention the toll this whole long distance thing has had on Misty and me."

"You know she'd support you in whatever decision you decide to make, sweetie," Delia responded after a moment.

"Yeah," he said, "but I don't want to be long distance anymore." He turned and looked at her. "I want to just stay home at this point, if you'll have me."

"Of course, honey," she exclaimed while embracing him, "I know Misty would love having you closer as well."

"Yeah," he said, though she could still sense the trepidation in his voice.

"You know, sweetie, whatever does happen tomorrow, it won't define your entire life. Who you are defines you. Not what you do. Not every dream is always attainable. How many people struggle for years with a goal in mind and end up figuring out that another goal that they actually attain was just as fulfilling? I know my life didn't always go according to plan, but I know I achieved something wonderful."

She smiled and nodded her head toward him. He nodded, showing he got the hint.

"But it would still be kind of nice," Ash mused looking off into the distance, "to fulfill this dream."

* * *

Greninja had felled two of Brock's pokemon, ninetales and rhyperior, and Ash's demeanor had improved. He was ahead again, and was only on his third pokemon. Forretress was next, and while Greninja never officially went down, Ash decided that he didn't want to risk his versatile frog pokemon's health on such a high defense target after several minutes of attacks bouncing off of the bug/steel type. He recalled Greninja and decided it was time to bring out the big guns, even though he was revealing another of his pokemon.

"Alright, I know you've been waiting, buddy. It's your turn!" Ash yelled as he threw another pokeball onto the field.

With a roar and a flame that people in the upper rows of the stadium could feel shooting out of its mouth, Charizard made itself known to the crowd and the suddenly not-so-optimistic Brock. Charizard's nostrils puffed smoke as it looked at his opponent with a grin. It was clear in one massive flamethrower that Charizard was in another league altogether compared to Brock's forretress, and the pokemon was soon recalled after being declared no longer able to battle.

Ash fully expected Brock's next pokemon, as it was one Ash had also known for years. He had defeated it over a decade before to obtain his first badge in a decidedly unorthodox manner. But Onix was now Steelix, and Brock's strongest pokemon. But Ash knew there weren't many pokemon out there as strong as his Charizard, and he had the type advantage.

The match was intense. Charizard stayed in the air most of the time, fielding commands to pepper the giant snake-like pokemon with numerous fire attacks while avoiding any potential ground attacks Steelix could throw at it. Brock tried to counter with rock attacks, but Steelix was at a type disadvantage from the beginning, and Charizard was so fast in the air. Brock didn't remember ever seeing the pokemon move like that, and simply had to guess that Ash and he had been working hard with it to reach new levels of power. The young pokemon doctor knew it was simply a matter of time. He hadn't seen a pokemon as powerful as this charizard for a very long time.

Brock shook his head as Steelix finally fell under the intense heat of the fire lizard's barrage. He had already recalled his strongest pokemon before the referee had declared him unable to battle, and was on his way to the middle of the field to congratulate his friend before he was declared the winner.

And Ash was declared the winner, and the crowd loved it. Brock extended his hand to his younger friend and looked at him proudly. They shook hands and Brock smacked Ash's shoulder affectionately.

"Congrats, brother!" Brock exclaimed. "You're truly one of the best, Ash."

"Thanks, Brock," Ash replied. He was relieved, but knowledge of what was coming had already started to travel to his stomach.

"Good luck, Ash. I can't wait to watch the next match. I know it's going to be one for the ages."

* * *

The light of the day was gone, the stadium lit up by brilliant spotlights and colorful displays. The crowd, despite having been there most of the day, was raucous and excited. They knew they were about witness history, and they hadn't left their seats due to the highlights of Ash Ketchum's numerous battles that had come before what was to be the one to decide the future of the Pokemon League.

Brock found his way into the Elite Four VIP seating area where all of his and Ash's friends had gathered. They all congratulated him and he simply nodded and smiled as he took his seat between Lucy and May.

"You know guys," he began, as the eyes of Delia, Serena, Clemont, May, Dawn, Barry, Drew, Max, Professor Oak, Gary, Leaf, the Waterflower sisters, and Tracey all trained on his smiling face, "you need to watch this match. It's going to be one of the most exciting things you can imagine."

And with that, they all looked down as the sight of shocking red hair emerged from the tunnel.

* * *

 **Note: Alright everyone, one more chance to influence the last pokemon of Ash's that I haven't revealed. I am leaning one way, but I want to give my readers a shot at determining what the last pokemon is. So the question is: should it be a familiar one that we've seen Ash use before, or one he hasn't used but I like quite a bit? Let me know in the reviews.**

 **Beyond that, what did you think of the battle with Brock? Some of the history of Brock and Misty moving up in the League? The moment with Delia? I am so glad we're finally to the battle with Misty. I know I've been looking forward to writing it. After the battles, I do have some more planned, and it will be less pokemon battles and more character development. Also, some more surprise characters will make an appearance next chapter! Can you guess who?**

 **Please review! They really do help!**


	7. Guys, Ash Has to Beat Misty

_Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages: We are proud to bring to you, at this 105_ _th_ _annual Indigo Pokemon League Conference, an event that is rare indeed. We do not have a sitting champion, and when this is the case, the leader of the Elite Four acts as the standing champion. This being the case, we are privileged to bring you this official Pokemon League Championship match between the impressive challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and the Leader of the distinguished Elite Four, undefeated in her time, Misty Waterflower!_

Misty adjusted her belt and then straightened out her checkered navy blue suit. She ran her hand over the pokeballs holstered on her belt and tapped her foot. She couldn't deny it, she was anxious. She was about to face the man she loves in an official pokemon battle. And it wasn't just any pokemon battle, but the most important pokemon battle of his life. He was only a step from his lifelong goal of becoming a pokemon master, and she was standing in his way. She wasn't comfortable with that reality, and she hadn't been for days. But now the reality was really sinking in, and she felt like vomiting then and there.

 _You all know him by now. He is the Indigo League Tournament winner! He blew through the competition and never had to use a fourth pokemon! He has been a mainstay in leagues across the world for the last decade, always placing well and finishing strong. But today he has the chance to make history! He can become the first Indigo League Pokemon Champion in years, and the most powerful trainer in the world! Please welcome to the field, Pallet town native, Ash Ketchum!_

Misty could feel the stadium shake as Ash was introduced. The crowd roared and chanted his name. She couldn't yet see the field, but she knew by their reaction the moment Ash stepped onto the field by the change in their intensity. She tilted her head side to side, popping her neck, and shuffled side to side trying to relieve some of the butterflies that were parading around in her stomach.

 _She is the youngest Elite Four member in history, and its current leader. Widely considered the most powerful pokemon trainer in the world. Undefeated in official league matches and exhibitions for many years. She is a master of water pokemon. Acting as league champion, she is Leader Misty Waterflower!_

The doors in front of her slid open and light flooded the tunnel. She stepped out into the crisp night air, wincing at the sudden onslaught of bright spotlights and colorful displays. And then the boos reigned down. Louder than the cheers for Ash, the crowd jeered and booed Misty as she made her way toward the middle of the field. She wasn't exactly expecting a warm welcome from the crowd, but this was just a little unexpected. The last time she had been on this stage a few years prior, the crowd had politely applauded her. Now she was being booed with more enthusiasm than she'd ever heard in that stadium. She held her head up high and actually gave a slight grin. If she was the heel, she might as well play the part.

She approached Ash, who had a bewildered, if not slightly perturbed, look on his face. He was scanning the crowd quickly with wide eyes and a large frown, clearly uncomfortable with the crowd's reaction to her. She appreciated how defensive of her he was, even if she didn't really need it. As she closed the distance between them, she felt a familiar calm wash over her, wiping away the nervous anxiety she had been feeling and replacing it with a comfortable warmth that being around Ash always bestowed upon her.

Finally they were eye to eye once again. It seemed as if so much had happened since they'd seen each other the night before. And she supposed that a lot had happened that day. Ash looked a little tired, but his wide smile disguised it well. She could see his eyes sparkle with admiration, and she wanted to envelop him in a hug right there, but she knew that probably wasn't the way to start the championship match that was about to take place.

"Hey," she said, extending her hand.

"Hi," he replied and shook her hand.

"I think they like you better than me," she winked.

He looked uncomfortable as the silence between them lasted for a few moments.

"Are you ready?" she asked, as if to just fill the void.

"Are you?" he winked, and she playfully rolled her eyes.

"Chuuuu…" Pikachu piped up from Ash's shoulder, voicing his displeasure in having to battle his Pikachupi.

She reached up and scratched his chin to encourage him, "Don't worry Pika-pal. It's just for fun! Well and for a championship."

Pikachu nodded hesitantly, still not comfortable with the situation.

They stood for a moment longer, basking in each other's presence until Misty finally said, "Ash…good luck."

"Thank you, Mist," he replied, "and remember what I said. Do not go easy on me!"

She shook her head as she turned for the trainer box on her side of the field, "I wouldn't dream of it."

 _And the two competitors have finished their customary introductions and have now taken their places in their trainer boxes. The crowd is certainly into this one, folks, as they are loudly cheering the challenger as they anticipate the beginning of this match! It is sure to be one for the ages! And now the ground on the leader's side of the field has receded and revealed the water underneath, changing the filed into half terrain, half water, as is customary in the leader's matches. How exciting, folks!_

 _And now here comes the field official, his hand raised as he looks at both trainers. And he has lowered his arm and called for the match to begin! Here we go!_

"Misty chooses Starmie!"

In a flash brilliant flash the star-shaped pokemon with a brilliant jewel at its center appeared on one of the platforms suspended in the water on Misty's side of the field. Ash couldn't help but feel nostalgic. He was about to face another pokemon he was very well acquainted with. But Starmie looked different. It looked stronger and shinier. Ash figured he shouldn't be surprised given it was one of Misty's oldest pokemon, and was now trained by an Elite Four master.

"Alright, let's go Goodra!"

The rare dragon pokemon appeared and growled at his opponent confidently. For a moment, the two trainers felt like time had stopped. The crowd noise dulled and it seemed like they and their pokemon were the only beings who existed in the entire world. But then, the action started and the illusion faded. Reality returned as attack commands were issued.

"Goodra, dragon pulse!"

"Starmie, rapid spin! Don't let it touch you!"

Starmie leaped into the air and began spinning like a fan. Ash had seen rapid spin before, but Misty's Starmie looked like it had invented the maneuver, as it spun faster than he'd ever seen before and began swiftly careening around the field. Goodra began launching its dragon beam at the now flying starfish pokemon, but was unable to land a hit as Starmie displayed its impressive speed. Then it began slamming into Goodra as it continued its seeming never-ending journey around the battle field. Again and again, Starmie slammed into the dragon, moving it along the ground and causing globs of goo to fly off of Goodra with every strike.

Ash grit his teeth, thinking quickly of what he could use as a counter, as Starmie had quickly taken the upper hand in the match. "Goodra, try to grab it and give it a close range dragon breath attack!"

Goodra braced itself as Starmie again approached at a high speed. It grabbed the rapidly spinning pokemon by two of its points, forced back by the impact. But instead of stopping Starmie, Goodra had to hold on for dear life as it began to be spun around with the starfish! It was not able to resist the centrifugal force for long, and it finally let go and was launched onto Misty's side of the field, crashing hard on one of the platforms in the water with half of its body submerged in the water.

Misty saw her opportunity, "Quick, Starmie, blizzard! Freeze that part of the pool!"

Without hesitation, Starmie's jewel began to glow a light blue as it launched a powerful icy wind at Goodra. Ash pleaded with the dragon to dodge, but it just wasn't fast enough. Soon, the water around Goodra was frozen solid, trapping the lower half of its body in solid ice.

 _Oh my, folks, what a match so far! Goodra is frozen in place and…yes the official has declared it unable to continue battling! The leader has taken round one as the challenger is now down to five pokemon! Who will he send out next?_

The crowd audibly gasped at how quickly Goodra went down. Ash looked over at Misty as he pondered on which pokemon to send next. Most challengers he faced normally looked very pleased with themselves if they got the first k/o in a battle. He knew that he felt fairly good about himself when he won the first round in a pokemon battle. But Misty just looked stoic as she stared back at him. He wondered what was going through her mind, but figured it was a distraction and released his second pokemon onto the field.

Garachomp roared at the prospect of a new battle as Starmie simply stood on its platform. Without a face to analyze, it was hard to read her water pokemon's mood, but Misty knew her first pokemon, and she knew it was buzzing with excitement. It had been a long time since they had been in a real pokemon battle.

"Let's do it again, Starmie! Rapid spin!"

Once again, Starmie began to spin and fly around the field, periodically slamming into another dragon opponent. Ash decided to change up his strategy.

"Dig, Garachomp!"

Immediately Garachomp tunneled its way underground, leaving Sarmie to simply continue spinning in the air and flying rapidly around the field. Ash knew he had to get it to stop or else it would just whittle down each pokemon he sent out. Ash watched the star-shaped water pokemon continue to careen around the field, waiting for the perfect moment for his next command. After several moments, he saw it.

"Now! Dragon rush!"

Immediately Garachomp burst up from the ground and right under where Starmie was passing. It smashed into the bottom of the starfish and launched it up into the air, ceasing its spin.

"Fly up and catch it in midair and give it a giga impact into the ground, Garachomp!" Ash shouted quickly.

Misty grit her teeth as the tide of the battle seemed to shift. She watched as Garachomp flew up to where Starmie had been launched and then smashed into it as it began to attempt to drive it into the ground.

"Starmie quick, ice beam!"

As it was being driven toward the ground at an increasing rate, Starmie launched a close range ice beam straight into the chest of its attacker. Garachomp took the attack head on as it continued its own. The ground approached quickly as the ice built up on its chest and wings until most of its upper half was immobilized by ice. But it didn't stop its giga impact as both pokemon slammed into the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. It was clear that Garachomp was mostly frozen solid, but Starmie was somewhere underneath the dragon pokemon.

"Hydro pump!" Misty's voice cut through the sudden silence in the stadium, and a blast of water launched the frozen dragon into the air and off to the side of the crater it had caused. Soon after Starmie slithered out of the crater and made its way back to the platform it started the match on.

 _And the official now declares the challenger's garachomp as unable to battle! Ash Ketchum is now down to just four pokemon! This is not looking good for the challenger, folks. The Leader's first pokemon has taken down Ketchum's two most successful pokemon from the tournament! This is truly pulse-pounding action! Can the challenger mount a comeback!?_

Ash felt like he was swallowing sandpaper. His mouth seemed to have suddenly gone dry as he recalled his second fallen pokemon. He grabbed his hat and wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he fumbled with releasing his next pokeball. _C'mon, you've been in worse situations than this, damnit,_ he thought, trying to work through his mixture of sudden surprise and dread. He had to switch things up. A different approach was called for if he wanted to turn the tide of the battle and gain some momentum.

"Alright, buddy! It's been a while, but I believe in you! I choose you, Ivysaur!"

"SAUR!" it yelled. Misty recognized the pokemon immediately. She'd been there when Ash had caught it as a bulbasaur so many years ago. She hadn't been aware that it had evolved, however.

"Alright, Ivysaur, we've got to hurry here! Vine whip! Wrap Starmie up so it can't move!"

Two long vines burst forth from the flower on Ivysarur's back and grabbed the starfish pokemon. The vines continued to work their way out of the flower as more and more vine was able to wrap around Starmie. Ash pumped his fist as something finally seemed to be going right for him for the first time in the match. Until…

"It won't work!" Misty yelled. "Tackle, Starmie!"

In spite of the mass of vines wrapping their way around Starmie's points, it launched itself directly at Ivysaur and slammed itself into the grass pokemon's head. The attack caused Ivysaur to stumble backward and the vines began to loosen.

"Water gun and then another tackle! Keep it up, Starmie, until you can escape those vines!"

Attack after attack began to batter the Kanto grass starter, but it still held on to the starfish pokemon with its vines and attempted to drive it into the ground, succeeding occasionally. Water pelted Ivysaur, followed by its opponent's tackle attack over and over. The crowd began to get restless, as did Ash.

"Keep holding onto it, but launch razor leaf at it when it tries to tackle again!" he called out.

A massive cloud of sharp leaves was launched from Ivysaur's back and toward Starmie. It was able to dodge and weave around some of the razor leaf attack, but it did take some damage as multiple leaves were able to catch the pointed edges of Starmie. But that didn't stop the constant barrage of Starmie's physical bombardment into Ivysaur's face. Tackle after water gun after tackle continued. Ash wasn't sure how long it could keep it up.

 _Folks it is not looking good for Ivysaur, either. Even with the type advantage, it seems like the Leader's pokemon is just too strong and too well trained for… Wait a minute, folks, what is this!? The ivysaur is beginning to glow! Is it…? It's such a brilliantly bright glow! Can it be!? YES, folks this is nearly unprecedented in a championship match! Ivysaur has evolved into a venusaur! And it couldn't have happened at a better time for the challenger!_

Misty stood, mouth agape, as Venusaur began to completely dominate Starmie, slamming it into the turf with reckless abandon. It almost seemed to be venting its frustration from having taken such a pummeling. She could not believe it. She'd never had an opponent's pokemon evolve on her mid match before. But soon it was clear that Starmie was no longer putting up a fight, and the field official instructed her to recall it.

 _Of course Ash's pokemon would evolve mid-match,_ she thought, inwardly chuckling as she pulled out her next pokeball and released it onto the field.

"Misty chooses Azumarill!"

The blue fairy pokemon happily cooed as it was released from its pokeball and smiled at its trainer. "You ready, baby?" Misty asked affectionately, and she could have sworn she heard that boyfriend of hers chuckle at her baby talk to her fully evolved pokemon from across the field. What could she say? Old habits died hard.

"Alright, let's play rough with Venusaur," she commanded with a wink to her fairy type.

Azumarill jumped into action quickly and began to pummel the grass type all over its body with a barrage of any type of physical strike it could muster. Ash didn't wait long and commanded Venusaur to grab the round water type with its vines. They wrapped around the smaller pokemon, but it continued its barrage nonetheless. That is until Venusaur lifted it out of range about 75 feet into the air.

"Now, seed bomb!" Ash yelled, gesticulating wildly with his hands, as he was prone to do. Venusaur's flower began to glow and suddenly began to launch large oval shaped seeds toward the opponent it held in its vines.

"Blow those away with hydro pump!" Misty called. Azumarill quickly launched the powerful water attack and the seeds exploded midway to reaching their goal. "Now, hyper beam!"

 _Geez, Misty, how many moves do your pokemon know now!?_ Ash was again impressed by the beautiful redhead's prowess as a pokemon trainer, but needing to focus on the battle and not her eyes, he quickly called out for Venusaur to use solar beam. The atmosphere became thick as the two powerful beam attacks charged, and Ash had to remember to breathe until suddenly the stadium filled with a brilliant flash. A fierce wind blew his hair and ruffled Pikachu's fur and Ash was forced to shield his eyes to avoid the dust that was kicked up by the blasts.

 _Oh my, folks! If you're watching this from home you are simply not fully experiencing the tense nature of this match! The unrivaled power emanating from these well-trained pokemon is truly something to behold! The dust is settling from the pair of powerful beam attacks that the two battlers just released! I can't quite make out who is left standing! Will the challenger have regained his lost ground!? Will the Leader pull farther ahead?_

Misty smoothed her suit and patted as much dust out of it as she could as she waited for the dust to clear and the official to make a call. She gritted her teeth and peered through the dust and didn't see any movement.

The field official finally made the call, "Neither pokemon is able to continue to battle! Trainers, send out your next pokemon!"

Misty's eyebrows rose at having to call out another pokemon. She hadn't really been pushed this far in quite a while, so people probably weren't as used to seeing this part of her team. A little excitement ran up her spine as she quickly chose her next pokemon, "Misty chooses Togekiss!"

"Togekiss!" Ash said aloud. "Is that…?"

The stadium oohed at seeing the rare pokemon appear. There had always been rumors of the Elite Four Leader's majestic togekiss, and it was listed in her official roster, but it had never before been seen in an official league battle. Misty smiled proudly and patted her old friend on the head as she awaited Ash's pokemon choice.

"Alright, then," Ash said, his mouth forming an excited grin, "let's go Pikachu!"

"Chuu!?" Pikachu exclaimed, slightly put off.

"What? Let's go! Your turn, buddy!"

Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and slowly sauntered out onto the field. Togekiss slowly floated to the middle of the field as well and the two pokemon just stood there. Pikachu chattered a few things to the oval avian pokemon, and Togekiss responded with a few chatters as well. Then each pokemon turned to its trainer with looks of pleading defiance.

"What's the matter, Togekiss? Let's start off with a sky attack!" Misty called.

"Counter with a thunderbolt, Pikachu!" Ash retorted.

But neither pokemon moved. They simply looked at each other, and then back to their trainers. Pikachu looked at Ash and actually seemed to be angry.

 _Folks I'm not really sure what to make of the scene we see on the field right now. Each of the pokemon are simply standing in the middle of the battlefield and looking back at their trainers. It almost seems like they're refusing to battle! This is not something I've ever seen happen from this level of trainers' pokemon. The challenger and the Leader have both given commands, but their pokemon aren't complying!_

The field official called both Misty and Ash over after several more minutes, "I'm going to have to insist that someone make a move here or I'm going to have to disqualify both pokemon."

They nodded, and both realized that the crowd was starting to get restless. Misty whispered to him, "They're not going to battle, Ash. I didn't know their history was going to be such an issue."

Ash looked down at Pikachu, "Are you serious, buddy? You and Togekiss won't battle each other?"

Pikachu shook his head, "Pika pika chu chu. Pika Pikachupi pika."

Ash scratched the back of his head, "Okay, I'll send out another pokemon. You're going to have to battle at some point though, buddy."

Pikachu nodded and climbed back on to Ash's shoulder as the two trainers returned to their respective boxes. Wanting to quickly get past the embarrassing and awkward moment, Ash quickly called out his next pokemon.

"Go Greninja!"

The Kalosian water starter appeared and stood proudly on the field, its arms crossed, as stared down the fairy type.

"Water shuriken!"

"Sky attack!"

Greninja formed star shaped blades of water and hurled them at the now soaring togekiss. For its part, Togekiss surrounded itself in an orange aura and began to speed through the air toward the froglike pokemon. Several of the water shuriken attacks landed, but Togekiss seemed largely unfazed as it smashed into Greninja and knocked it back toward Ash's box. Greninja recovered gracefully as it backflipped and landed on its feet. Neither pokemon seemed to have been damaged.

"Double edge, Togekiss!" Misty called out. Togekiss quickly flew toward Greninja, and at the last moment twisted in air, allowing its glowing wings to smash into Greninja multiple times.

"Now ancient power!" Following Misty's command, Togekiss formed a large energy ball and launched it at the water pokemon. Greninja crossed its arms in front of its face as the ball of energy pushed it back even further.

Ash had seen enough. "It's time to take things seriously, Greninja!" Ash called. "Are you ready!? FULL POWER!"

Misty stood in awe as Greninja and Ash's movements seemed to begin to mirror one another. A huge spout of water burst from Greninja and briefly surrounded the pokemon before seeming to form a set of water wings on its back. The crest on its head had also changed colors, and seemed to Misty to look like a certain someone's distinctive hairstyle.

"Now, cut!"

Ash-Greninja pulled out a pair of water blades and charged Togekiss. It's speed had at least doubled by Misty's estimation, and she could only imagine what the transformation had done for the rest of Greninja's power. She wasn't completely surprised, as this phenomenon had come up in her studies of Ash's time in Kalos.

"Look out!" she yelled as Ash-Greninja began to slash away at her togekiss. "Fly up! Then another sky attack!"

"Don't let it get away!" Ash yelled. "Aerial ace!"

Greninja jumped high into the air, matching Togekiss' altitude and brought down a punishing blow onto the fairy type's head. Togekiss began to plummet toward the ground as Ash called out for another water shuriken attack. Greninja pulled the large weapon off of its back and sent it hurtling toward where Togekiss was going to land, which it did. The water attack landed immediately after, adding even more damage.

"No, Togekiss!" Misty called. But it was too late. Togekiss' eyes spiraled and the official declared it no longer able to battle.

 _Folks what a display of power! Following the mysterious transformation by Ash's greninja, it seemed to gain another level of power and completely dominated the Leader's majestic togekiss! This match truly must be seen to be believed._

Misty wasn't really a fan of the next decision she had to make. She had read Professor Sycamore's report and figured, like the professor, that Greninja's boost in power came from the unwavering trust between trainer and pokemon, and was again immensely impressed by her boyfriend's abilities as a trainer. But he wasn't the only one who shared a special bond with one of their pokemon. Her bond with her next pokemon, however, wasn't really pleasant. She took several deep breaths and, before she could even touch her next pokemon's pokeball, it erupted in a red flash onto the field.

"Uh..Misty chooses Golduck!"

Immediately the headache began, and Misty was forced to grab her head to compensate for the pain. Golduck mirrored her as it too began a mysterious transformation that no one but Misty had ever seen. The typical spikes of feathers on Golduck's head grew into what looked like long dreadlocks. Instead of just one jewel on its forehead, a myriad of shining orange jewels appeared. And the most impressive change was its tail, which changed to a brilliant bright orange glow. The stadium was absolutely quiet as Misty sunk to the ground holding her head as a trickle of blood left her nose.

Misty didn't have to call out commands to Golduck in this form. They had developed a psychic connection. After years of intense training, her unique psyduck had finally evolved. But things didn't change for it like it did when most psyducks evolved. Golduck retained its headache. But it was also far more powerful than any golduck Misty had ever encountered. And as they continued to train together over the years, one day Golduck transferred its headache to Misty, and the relief allowed it to take on this new form of which only Misty and her pokemon were privy, and which she had only practiced a half a dozen times due to the toll it took on her.

Ash's eyes were as wide as saucers and he began to step toward the field under the overwhelming compulsion to protect his girlfriend from whatever was hurting her, but then he felt a sharp pain in his own gut as he was thrown back. Golduck had appeared almost without warning in front of Ash-Greninja and had punched it square in the stomach. Ash-Greninja grabbed Golduck's arm and flipped it over, smashing it into the ground. Golduck in turn focused. A purple aura suddenly surrounded Ash-Greninja and flung it back toward Misty's side of the field and into the pool.

"Surf!" Ash called out, and Ash-Greninja caused the pool water to rise into a huge wave as it stood on top. It crashed into Golduck and Ash-Greninja landed a hard right hook. Golduck focused again and the purple aura surrounded the hands of the frog pokemon and caused them to stretch out to either side as Golduck began to punch Ash-Greninja unblocked in the gut. Ash, winced as every blow was transferred to him as well.

"Get out of there with a hydro pump!" Ash commanded. Ash-Greninja launched a powerful barrage of water directly into the face of the transformed golduck and was able to backflip to safety, successfully breaking the telekinetic hold on its limbs.

As the battle between the two unique pokemon continued, so did Misty's massive headache. Her eyes were now bloodshot and slightly bulging, and her nose was releasing more than a trickle of blood, but a steady flow. Veins popped out of her forehead in multiple places and her face was beet red. The official was seriously considering calling for medical attention.

Suddenly Misty released an almost inhumanly loud shriek as a massive pulse of psychic power emanated from Golduck and smashed into Ash-Greninja. Both trainer Ash and Ash-Greninja flew several feet backward. Golduck collapsed and had transformed back into its base golduck form. Misty was on her hands and knees and was breathing heavily in her trainer box as a few droplets of blood dripped from her nose onto the ground in front of her. The headache was gone, and she knew Golduck was spent even before the field official announced that neither Golduck nor Greninja could continue battling.

Ash sat up and noticed that his nose had a stream of blood running from it. He wiped it onto his sleeve and recalled Greninja and prepared to send out his next pokemon. Misty likewise stood, recalled Golduck, and though she wobbled on her feet slightly, she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her nose and then straightened out her suit again and prepared to send out her fourth pokemon.

 _Folks I…I am not sure how this match could be any more exciting. We've just witnessed something I don't think anyone has ever seen before. Two unknown transformations and an epic battle that I'm not sure we'll ever see anything like again. And not to mention the physical toll it seemed to also have on both trainers! What exactly are we seeing here, folks!? With that said, the challenger is down to just two pokemon now, and the Leader has been pushed to her fifth pokemon as well for the first time in her Elite Four career. The crowd is just going crazy, folks. I don't remember the last time I've heard it this loud in this stadium!_

Misty shook her head and was glad she was recovering her faculties so quickly after the psychic stress Golduck had put on her. She then threw out her next pokeball, "Misty chooses Milotic!"

The crowd gasped at the beauty of the long slender pokemon. Misty's milotic was especially beautiful, and she'd even considered entering it in Pokemon Contests due to its sleek sheen and unrivaled beauty (though she wasn't allowed as an Elite Four member). She stroked the smooth skin of the multicolored pokemon as she awaited Ash's decision.

"Let's go Charizard!"

Ash's most powerful pokemon burst forth and roared loudly as the crowd bellowed in approval. Charizard blew an enormous fire spout into the air and then turned to the pokemon. While Milotic had a type advantage, Charizard was confident in its own superiority.

Ash commanded Charizard to fly and pelt Milotic with any fire and dragon attacks it could muster, while Milotic countered with various water attacks and successfully repelled most of what Charizard threw at it.

"Get it close with flare blitz and then a seismic toss, Charizard!"

"Jump in the water, Milotic! Don't let it hit you!"

Charizard had to veer away at the last minute as Milotic dove completely underwater and avoided the powerful fire-type's barrage. Milotic kept launching water attacks, but Charizard's speed and agility left it unscathed.

Misty gritted her teeth as the battle went on, aware that Ash's charizard was one of the most powerful she had ever seen. The years of training it had undergone in various venues such as Charicific Valley and whatever training Ash did had made it dominant and confident.

Ash knew they wouldn't get anywhere fast if Milotic stayed underwater and kept sniping Charizard, so it was time to implement one of the strategies he and Charizard had worked on in preparation for the League.

"Charizard, overheat! Evaporate the water in the pool!"

All Misty could do was utter a bemused "What!?" as Charizard began to glow a bright red and unleashed a massive plume of flame at the pool. The stadium suddenly became very humid as steam erupted from the pool as Charizard continued its attack on the water. Milotic contined to descend until it hit the bottom of the pool and realized that it was going to run out of water. Not to mention the temperature of the water it had left was rapidly rising.

"Get out of there, Milotic!" Misty called, and the slender pokemon jumped back onto land.

Ash saw his chance, "Now, Charizard, seismic toss!"

Charizard swiftly flew at the retreating water type and grabbed it around its neck. For good measure, Charizard launched an improvised point blank flamethrower right in the face of Milotic before flipping over and smashing it into the ground with a massive force. Charizard put its hind claw on the injured water type's head and roared victoriously as the field official declared Milotic unable to battle.

Ash winced as his powerhouse of a pokemon went a little overboard in defeating one of his girlfriend's treasured pokemon, and saw the look of anger in her cerulean eyes as Misty recalled Milotic. He knew that she was definitely not going to hold back, and knew Charizard had its work cut out for it against…

"Misty chooses, Gyarados!"

The impressive specimen appeared, and Ash was again impressed by just how large Misty's gyarados was; at least a full head bigger than the typical gyarados. It looked at him and again Ash could swear it gave him an amused grin.

 _For the first time in this match the challenger has the numbers advantage! Leader Misty is down to her last pokemon, but it's also her most powerful. This intimidating gyarados is truly a sight to behold, folks. Will its size and type advantage be enough to defeat the challenger's powerhouse charizard!?_

Misty was no longer taking any chances with Charizard. It was too powerful to take lightly. It was time to play her trump card. She moved her hair away from her left ear and flicked the jewel on her earring.

"Gyarados! Mega evolve!"

Ash could only gawk as Gyarados began to glow brightly. Time seemed to slow as the large pokemon grew even larger, spouting a new crest along its back, a larger horn on its head, gaining muscle, and sporting more vibrant colors. No one had really known Misty had a mega stone, because she'd never had to use it before. The crowd absolutely lost it at that point.

Charizard puffed smoke out of his nose as if he didn't even notice the huge water powerhouse and looked back at his trainer. Ash nodded to him and then reached up to his neck and pulled off a necklace that had been concealed throughout the entire conference. He touched the jewel that hung from the chain and it began to glow.

"Charizard! Mega evolve!"

If the crowd was frenzied due to seeing the gyarados mega-evolution, then riots would have probably started if the people weren't so into the match at that point. Charizard began to glow brightly as its wings changed shape, intense blue fire began to pour from its tail and mouth, and its entire body changed to a dark charcoal color.

Misty and Ash looked at each other from across the battlefield, both with clear surprise painted over each other's faces, and neither could deny being slightly turned on by each other at that point. But the brief moment ended as the trainers began rapidly calling out commands to the most powerful pokemon the league had seen in quite some time. Fire, water, lightning, ice, dragon and hyper beams flew around the field. Massive physical impacts all occurred as the powerhouses engaged in fierce combat.

Charizard kept it close as he punched and burned gyarados at every opportunity possible. Gyarados used its large tail to smash Charizard into the ground several times. Responding to a command from his trainer, Charizard grabbed Gyarados by the horn and hoisted it high into the air, which was an amazing feat of strength and power from the temporary dragon type given mega-Gyarados' huge size. A massive shockwave spread throughout the stadium as Charizard finished its seismic toss attack and left Gyarados on the ground as it continued to circle above.

Gyarados, nearly unfazed, reached up with its long massive tail and smacked Charizard out of the sky and then hit a crunch attack that it followed up with smashing its own face, Charizard still in its jaws, into the hard ground. Charizard roared in pain as it wriggled out of Gyarados' jaws and attempted to put some distance between the two of them. Misty was having none of it, however, as she commanded Gyarados to stay on Charizard. Gyarados did not let Charizard put any space between them as it followed the fire pokemon around the battlefield, hitting various water attacks as it did.

Ash knew Charizard was beginning to lose ground fast. "Quick, flamethrower. Make some space and then launch a hyper beam!"

Charizard quickly turned and launched its intense blue flame into the face of the huge water pokemon. That was enough to buy Charizard some space as it zoomed higher into the sky and began to charge up the powerful beam attack.

"Counter with your own hyper beam, Gyarados! You can win this beam struggle!" She yelled, putting everything on the line in that moment.

The two beams collided high in the air. Time seemed to slow as people in the stands dove behind their seats and covered their eyes. The two pokemon strained as their beams pushed against one another. The two trainers watched anxiously from dozens of feet below, shielding their eyes from the brightness of the attacks. Then, little by little, Charizard began to slip. Ash could see in its expression that his faithful powerhouse was not going to be able to hold on, as sweat began to bead up on the dragon's face and then finally it lost hold and Gyarados prevailed in the beam struggle. Its hyper beam smashed into Charizard and launched it high into the dark night sky.

Ash held his breath, looking up into the sky, hoping his pokemon could recover and continue the battle. Moments passed before he caught sight of Charizard, but he realized the pokemon had lost its mega-form and was in a free fall. He quickly aimed his pokeball at the Kanto starter and recalled it as the official declared it unable to battle.

 _Folks, your humble correspondent is almost speechless. This has been beyond what any Pokemon League fan could have ever asked for in a pokemon battle. And it is approaching its end as the challenger is also down to his last pokemon. And friends, as impressed as we've all been with Ash's Pikachu throughout its illustrious career, if a mega-charizard fell to the power of the Leader's mega-gyarados, what chance does the small unevolved mouse pokemon have? Can the challenger pull out a miracle? Or has the fat lady begun to sing?_

Ash looked at his small yellow friend and smiled. He knew the odds were against them, but that's where he and Pikachu always seemed to shine. Charizard had worn down Gyarados to some extent, so maybe with some luck…

"Let's go, buddy. This is it!"

"PIKA!" Pikachu responded boldly as he slowly scrambled out onto the field.

The size difference was almost laughable as the small yellow pokemon stood tall on its hind legs and stared down the giant blue and red beast. But Misty and Gyarados were too smart to fall into that trap, and Misty knew the match was not over.

Ash started by getting Pikachu to use its speed to try to stay out of the range of Gyarados while firing off electrical attacks as it could. Gyarados launched an assortment of different ranged attacks; from flamethrower to hydro pump to dragon rage. Pikachu was able to stay one step ahead, and Ash grew bold enough to command it to get in close for an iron tail. That would prove to be a mistake as Gyarados was finally able to land an aqua tail which launched the small pokemon into the ground, and Gyarados saw its chance. Once Pikachu was down, it continued to batter it with another aqua tail every time Pikachu attempted to crawl back to its feet. Time after time the giant water type's tail came crashing down onto the small electric pokemon. For its part, Pikachu bravely held on, years of practice had enabled it to take something of a beating, but it seemed as if it was only a matter of time at that point.

Ash was beside himself. His tactical error was going to cost him the match. Again. Once more he was going to leave a league so close, yet so far away. And as he'd decided, this was it. This was his last chance, and because he called for an iron tail instead of another electric attack, he had disappointed everyone.

Misty looked across the field as her stomach threatened to betray her again. Her heart was no longer in the match. The adrenaline had stopped coursing through her veins and all that was left was a deep pit of sadness in her stomach. She considered stopping the barrage. She truly considered allowing Ash to take advantage of a purposeful 'mistake' she could make. But she knew that's not what he wanted. He didn't want to win because of his girlfriend holding back for him. She turned her face from the battle as tears began running down her cheeks and she called for Gyrados to finish the battle.

"It's time to finish it off, Gyarados!" she called, her voice lacking the strength that it had throughout the rest of the battle. "Crunch. End it now."

Gyarados lunged at the small mouse struggling to stand once again. Ash watched in slow motion as its giant jaws opened and aimed for his friend. He wanted to call out for the match to stop. He was going to forfeit until he saw it. The glint in his reliable friend's eye as it winked at him…and then launched itself right into the open jaws of its enormous opponent.

Everyone, including Ash, gasped as Gyarados, who certainly didn't want to eat his trainer's boyfriend's pokemon, struggled to try to get the yellow pokemon out of the back of its throat. Opening and closing its mouth and thrusting its tongue from side to side, it attempted to clear Pikachu out. But Pikachu held firm and suddenly everyone looked up as storm clouds began to form over the stadium and Pikachu began to glow deep in the mouth of Gyarados.

"YES!" Ash yelled as he inwardly praised that, in that moment, Pikachu was a better tactician than himself. "Do it Pikachu! THUNDER!"

"PI," the clouds began to glow.

"KA," crackles of electricity ran throughout anything grounded in the stadium, and around the clouds that had formed in the sky.

"CHUUUUUUUUUU!"

The massive bolt of lightning lit up the sky for miles as the small yellow pokemon drew upon all the strength it had. Every ounce of energy it could muster went into the attack, and it struck the surprised gyarados and immediately knocked it out of its mega form.

The attack continued as a deep silence had spread throughout the stadium. Gyarados' muscles had all contracted in the energy, and it seemingly stood at its full height, unable to move as it was ravaged by electricity. And then suddenly it ended, and the giant fish stood there, unmoving, and then fell, slamming into the ground, shaking the stadium, kicking up dust, and ending the match.

But was Pikachu okay? The future of the Pokemon League Championship rested on Pikachu still being able to battle, but it was still in the now closed mouth of the fainted gyarados. The entire stadium remained quiet as over a hundred thousand people stared at the mouth of the fainted gyarados. Its lips began to quiver, and a small yellow paw suddenly popped through them. Then another. Then a yellow tail and striped back, and a head, and pointy ears, and Pikachu tiredly stood, leaning against the head of its giant opponent, and flashed the peace sign.

"Pi, Pikachu!"

 _And the crowd goes wild, folks! The match is over! We have a new Pokemon League Champion! Ladies and gentlemen this truly was a match for the ages! This humble correspondent is beyond words at this point. I can only describe the scene as the challenger has fallen to his knees. Surprise and elation is painted on his face as his small yellow companion has leaped into his arms! Folks, his family and friends are pouring onto the field. Women and men charging him and embracing him, but he still hasn't stood up. And, oh my word, walking onto the field from one of the VIP sections…I recognize those two! That is the new Unova champion and her brand new husband! Folks they just got married last week and were supposed to be on their honeymoon, but it looks like they have some sort of history with the new champion as Mr. Griffith has helped the challenger to his feet and embraced him in congratulations. The new Champion is now shaking the hand, no now he's also embracing Champion Iris! This is an historical moment, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy this! It is a rare event indeed!_

Misty hadn't moved at all as all of her and Ash's friends had stormed the field. She didn't know what to do. An interesting and confounding blend of emotions flowed through her as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. She was so happy for Ash, but she had just lost her first match in years. She was so proud of the man she loved, but she had lost. At that point she decided she didn't care, and finally began to walk slowly toward the new Pokemon League Champion.

The friends, family, reporters, cameras, and other various people that had surrounded Ash parted as they let the Leader of the Elite Four approach the Champion. He smiled broadly until he looked at her face and then became concerned at the streaks of dirt and mascara that ran down her cheeks.

"Mist…"

She held out her hand, fighting every urge she had to lunge herself at him and wrap her entire body around his. Over the immense crowd noise, she said, "Congratulations, Ash."

He looked at her hand and then gently took it and leaned toward her, placing his mouth as close to her ear as he could and said, "Marry me."

She fell backward, barely able to keep herself from falling down. She was in a total state of shock as she stared wide eyed into his brown orbs.

"Wh-what!?"

"Marry me, Misty Waterflower," he said, unaware that the stadium was now broadcasting their conversation. Audible gasps suddenly erupted from over 100,000 people as the crowd noise ended and shock washed over almost everyone in the stadium.

Her knees began to buckle and she reached up and grabbed him around the neck as he grabbed her waist and supported her with little trouble. She couldn't speak at that moment, but nodded profusely and began to cry as their lips met.

Ash perhaps thought he briefly heard several shrieks of joy from voices that may have resembled his mother, May, Dawn, Leaf, Iris, Serena, and even Brock? Maybe he'd heard that, but he wasn't really sure as he and the woman he loved became the only two people in the stadium for that brief moment.

And after moments of confusion and bewilderment, the crowd suddenly realized what was going on, and that a media mystery had been solved, and lost it again as the entire Pokemon League world erupted into loud sustained cheers.

* * *

One Pokemon League "fan" sat in a dark room, illuminated only by a small television broadcasting the match, and a lit cigar hanging from his mouth. His dark expensive suit blended well with the dark mahogany desk he sat behind, and he smiled broadly as he took a sip of the scotch he had just poured upon seeing the end of the match. A large catlike pokemon meowed something to him and he nodded as he stroked its jeweled head.

"Yes, he is very good. And I'm very proud of him."

* * *

 **Whewh. There it is! I have to admit, I had a lot of fun with this battle. I'm sorry parts of it aren't as long as I wanted, but I was getting past 8,000 words as it was. I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you thought. Any battles you especially liked?**

 **I really had fun with Misty-Golduck. I knew I wanted her to have a battle bond with one of her pokemon, and I went back and forth with Togekiss and Golduck. I ended with Golduck because of how unique Misty's psyduck always was. What did you think of it?**

 **And OMG Wishfulshipping!**

 **And OMG who is that mystery man!?**


	8. Delia's Interesting Proposal

This was definitely weird for Misty. Not only had she never needed to present a new Champion title to anyone before, given she had never been defeated, she'd certainly never had to present one to her new fiancé after having just accepted his proposal. And yet there they were, on the stage that had been rolled out during the short intermission, preparing to crown Ash as the new Champion of the Pokemon League. She and the tv makeup crew had done their best to clear up the mascara that had run down her cheeks in her emotional moment after Ash's victory, and she was now standing with the other three members of the Elite Four and the President of the League, Charles Goodshowe (who incidentally was also the television announcer) as Ash left their group of friends at the side of the stage to approach them to receive his title.

Goodshowe, a small wiry older gentleman with an enviable beard and energetic spirit, stood directly to Misty's right holding the trophy that they would soon hand over to Ash. He inconspicuously leaned closer to Misty and whispered, "So that was a bit surprising."

She blushed slightly and nodded, "I suppose some explanation is due?"

Goodshowe nodded, "Perhaps, but it can wait."

Ash finally reached the top of the stage where the Elite Four and the President stood as the crowd erupted once more, cheering for their new Champion. Misty couldn't help but mirror Ash's huge smile as his excitement was contagious. She was so happy for so many different reasons. She was happy for him. His lifelong dream had finally been realized. He was a Pokemon Master! And not only that, he was the Champion of the toughest Pokemon League in the world, which meant most people would consider him the greatest Pokemon Master in the world! But of course Misty had some selfish reasons for being on cloud 9, like being the new future Mrs. Ketchum.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Goodshowe began, "I am beyond pleased to perform a ceremony that has been many years coming. Since the retirement of our last Champion, Master Lance Grayson, it has been many years since we've had a League Champion. And it's been even longer since I've been able to present this trophy to a new victor. We are proud of our esteemed Elite Four, but we are also not complete without a Champion to guide us. And so, it is with great pleasure that I present this trophy and title to the newest Pokemon Master, Ash Ketchum!"

Misty had to place a hand over her mouth to fight back more tears as her heart swelled with pride as Ash took the trophy in his hands and looked at it with wide eyes. He stood there for several moments just staring at the award as the crowd bellowed their sustained cheers and chanted his name. As tears began to roll down his face, he grabbed every pokeball on his belt and released all of his pokemon. Goodra, Garachomp, Venusaur, Greninja, Charizard, and of course Pikachu all surrounded him as he raised the trophy into the air and yelled at the top of his lungs. His pokemon followed suit, and they could all be heard even above the crowd noise.

* * *

The celebration went late into the night. The group of friends, league representatives, and some lucky fans were able to congregate in an event room catered by the league. There was food, an open bar, and some recorded music as the group congratulated their friends not only on a victory, but on their new engagement. Misty stuck close to Ash most of the rest of the night as they laughed and celebrated with their friends. The night finally began to wind down as people began to filter out of the event room. Eventually, even their friends had to leave, but everyone agreed to meet the next morning for breakfast.

Ash walked Misty back to her apartment and they took the opportunity to talk and joke together as they hadn't been able to do in months. He leaned on her a little more than normal as he'd had a few too many drinks as he hummed one of the Pokemon League themes that had played throughout the day. His trophy in hand and Pikachu on his shoulder, they made their way up the stairs of her complex and finally to her door.

Misty turned and faced him, taking in his tall frame and smiling at the glow that surrounded him. He was clearly bursting with joy.

"So, Mr. Pokemon Master," she said with a wink, "you did it!"

He laughed and pulled her into a hug, "Which thing are we talking about here? Becoming the champion, or getting you to agree to marry me?"

She giggled, "Why can't it be both?"

"Well I can tell you which one I'm happier about," he said as he leaned in for a kiss, which she happily reciprocated.

"Your mouth tastes like a liquor store," she laughed.

"Well you only get to get drunk as the new Pokemon League Champion every so often, Mist."

"I'm so happy for you, Ash. I'm happy for us," she said sincerely, and then more teasingly she said, "I'm happy you finally made a first move in our relationship."

He gave her a faux scowl, "C'mon, I've gotten better at this."

"Clearly," she said and kissed him again before pulling out her keys. "I've got to get some sleep, and so do you. We have breakfast with everyone before at least half a dozen news channels knock down your door for interviews."

"Oh, uh, that reminds me," he said scratching the back of his head, "sorry about, you know, revealing us to the entire world."

She shrugged, "We were going to have to do it at some point, and frankly, I wouldn't have had it any other way." She waggled her eyebrows at him with the last remark as she opened her door. "We'll just deal with whatever fallout we have to from the league curators. Frankly, after that match, I don't really care what they do."

"That was an intense match. How did you get a keystone?" Ash asked, suddenly remembering some of the biggest moments of their battle.

"I'm an Elite Four member, Ash. How did YOU get one!?"

"Uh, well, I didn't just go to Kalos this last time to train with Clemont," he admitted. "Professor Sycamore gave it to me while I was there for the Indigo Conference after I got the eighth badge. Charizard and I only got to train for like a month with the new transformation."

She smiled, "Since when did you get so sneaky, mister?"

"What about you!? Where did that thing with Golduck come from!?"

"Heh, that silly duck evolved and introduced a whole new concept of weird to me."

The conversation seemed to end there and a comfortable silence settled over the two pokemon masters. Misty snuggled her way into another hug as she placed her head against Ash's chest and listened to his heartbeat briefly before pulling away and patting him on the chest. "I love you. Goodnight."

"Love you too, Mist," he replied while leaning down and ending their night with a kiss.

* * *

The next morning, the group of Ash, Misty, Daisy, Tracey, Violey, Lily, May, Drew, Max, Dawn, Barry, Serena, Clemont, Iris, Cilan, Brock, Lucy, Delia, and Professor Oak all met up as planned at a popular restaurant in the business district near the Pokemon League complex. There was laughing and reconnecting as the friends became reacquainted, or got to know each other better. The girls enjoyed discussing things revolving around modern fashion, pokemon coordinating, and other things that interested them. The guys discussed various things revolving around their shared interests in pokemon battling, coordinating, research, and just catching up in general. Eventually the conversation turned to Cilan and Iris.

"I can't believe you guys cut your honeymoon short to come out and see me battle," Ash said smiling at the newlyweds.

They shrugged and Cilan answered, "We figured it wouldn't be too hard to work it in. We couldn't miss this big moment for one of our friends! Plus, I got to see some amazing and contrasting styles in one of the greatest pokemon battles I've ever had the pleasure of evaluating!"

"And I got to see a kid finally grow up," Iris said, giving Ash a teasing grin. "You know how much this guy talked about you when we were traveling with him, Misty? And yet he'd never admit what we both knew. That he was in loooooove!"

The group laughed as Ash rubbed the back of his head.

"So how exciting is it you guys!? You know, to be engaged! It's so romantic!" Dawn said getting a dreamy look in her eyes, and clearly making Barry a little uncomfortable.

Misty blushed, "I guess I haven't had a lot of time to think about it yet. It was a whirlwind last night."

Ash nodded, "Yeah it just kind of happened. I wasn't really planning on it per se."

Gary laughed, "Ashy-boy acting spontaneously? Say it ain't so!"

Leaf nudged him, "You know, sometimes spontaneity is a good thing. Maybe you could learn a thing or two." Gary sputtered.

Delia suddenly piped up from her spot that Ash just then realized was conspicuously close to Professor Oak, "Speaking of spontaneity," she said, "I have a proposal. Samuel and I were talking about it, and he thinks he could help get it organized through some of his contacts…but what if we were to have the wedding this weekend?"

Ash suddenly choked on his eggs requiring a stiff pat on the back from Brock, while Misty nearly spat her coffee into her plate.

"Mom, what!?" Ash said after recovering.

"Think of it," Delia explained, "it's not like you two don't know each other. You've been together for so long, so do you really need a long engagement? You two may as well have been engaged for the past few years anyway. And all of your friends are already here! No one would have to do any extra traveling. They'd just need to stay through the wedding on Saturday. We could have the rehearsal in two days and then the wedding the next evening. I know it's a tad sudden, but certainly doable."

Ash and Misty looked at each other with wide eyes, and then back to the smiling face of his mother.

"I-I mean," Misty started hesitantly then looking back to her fiancé, "what do you think?"

Ash, a bit surprised Misty was even considering the spontaneous proposal from his mother, had some trouble finding the ability to speak, "I-uh…"

"She's not exactly wrong, you know," Misty said thoughtfully.

Ash slumped back in his seat and took his hat off to run his hand through his hair, "Mother is always right." He looked back to Misty's cerulean eyes and smiled slightly, "Do you want to?"

She tapped her chin with her index finger for a moment, considering the sudden proposal for a few more moments. Then smiling and grabbing Ash's hand she said, "Sure. Why not?"

The girls at the table all let out loud pitched squeals simultaneously as the guys groaned at the prospect of preparing for a wedding in 3 days. But it was settled. Ash and Misty were going to get married that weekend.

"I wonder if anything like this has ever happened," Cilan remarked thoughtfully, "two champions from different regions marrying just a few weeks apart. Fascinating!"

"Who cares!?" Iris exclaimed, slamming her hands down on the table.

"That's right!" May said standing up and grabbing Misty by the arm, and one could almost swear that the Reveille was sounding as the rest of the girls jumped to their feet as well, "Let's go girls, we have a wedding to get ready for!"

The girls began to file out, talking amongst themselves and dragging Misty along as she looked back to Ash with a pleading look and he could almost swear she mouthed 'Help me' to him as they exited the restaurant.

"Well," Delia said standing up, "I'd better go with them to make sure there's a bit of guidance on that end of things. Boys, Samuel will help you get ready on your end of things. I'll work out what color theme Misty wants and let you know what tuxedoes to order, Samuel," she said, winking at the group.

"Oh, and Ash, honey," she said in her sing-song voice and held up her hand while pointing to her finger, "go get Misty a ring, like, now."

* * *

"I don't know what kind of a ring to get," Ash grumbled as he and the guys wandered through a local jewelry store.

"Just get something with a shiny expensive rock, Ashy-boy," Gary replied, "like this one here!"

Ash looked to where Gary pointed and saw at least half a dozen rings (all extremely expensive) and he couldn't really tell any difference between them. "I mean do I just close my eyes and randomly pick one? They're all the same!"

"Ash," Brock said crossing his arms and suddenly towering over the younger man, "how could you still be so stupid about women!? How are you getting married before me with an attitude like this?"

"He's right, Ash," Cilan agreed, suddenly appearing next to Brock, "do you not know women can tell if you've put thought into a jewelry purchase? It's not like you're hurting for funds as the Champion. You need to put some thought into this and spare no expense."

Ash and Gary both looked at each other, both slightly shamed by two snobbish romantics.

"Ash," Tracey said as he scanned through the selection of rings in the cases, "think of your feelings for Misty. What do you think of when you think of her?"

"Well," Ash stroked his chin as he thought, "she's hot…" Cilan facepalmed, "Hang on I'm not done. She's determined, strong and supportive, loves the water and has eyes like the sea…"

"Can we tone down the mushiness here before lover boy gets into what she's like in bed?" Gary said with a grin.

Ash glared, "How would I know?"

* * *

"These are beautiful, Misty!" Serena cooed at the choices the group of women had narrowed the wedding dresses and the companion bridesmaid's dresses down to.

"Oh I love the green, oh and the blue! AAH I can't choose!" May squealed.

"You kids," Iris chuckled.

"Oh come on, Iris, you're having fun too," Dawn winked.

"That's true. It's much more fun picking out dress for the bride than having to try it on!"

Misty came out in the light blue dress and spun around in it for the rest of the girls in front of the mirror. She liked it.

"That is so you," Daisy said with Lilly and Violet nodding their approval.

"It would make sense for a water master to wear something blue at her wedding, wouldn't it?" Lucy commented.

"It does look nice," Misty finally offered her opinion with a slight smile.

"It'll look even nicer when it's bundled up in the corner in a few nights," Leaf said leaning against the wall.

"Leaf!" Serena looked scandalized and May and Dawn giggled and blushed. Misty just glared at Leaf with a look of slight amusement and annoyance, and the other girls followed suit with a mixture of similar reactions.

Leaf just smiled mischievously. "What?"

* * *

Ash had figured out what to do for a ring and had placed a custom order that would normally take a week to get, but, as the shopkeeper put it, "for the Pokemon League Champion, we can speed things up a bit." He promised the custom ring in time for the wedding.

"Wait, wait, wait," Gary suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and held up his hands chest high as the rest of the men filed down the street. The other men stopped to look at the young researcher and he continued, "I'm over here putting two and two together, and if Ashy-boy is telling the truth, and he has no idea what Red is like in bed, then think about it. Even with all those girls he's traveled around with he's never had another girlfriend. So what does this mean guys? Anyone? It means he's a..." he leaned in close to the group and motioned for them all to do the same. Then loudly and without regard to the passing crowd he finished, "VIRGIN!"

The group groaned and rolled their eyes, and Ash placed his face in his hand.

"Oh like you aren't, Gary," Brock said while swiftly turning to continue his way toward their destination.

"I am not the issue here," Gary retorted, "Ashy-boy is."

"So what if he is? I don't think anyone cares, Gary," Drew shot back.

"I can't believe we're talking about this," Clemont face-palmed.

"I can't believe no one else thinks this is noteworthy," Gary said shaking his head. "The most powerful trainer in the world is a virgin! The most hilarious things are lost on the weak-minded I suppose."

* * *

Misty and Delia had finalized the color scheme for the wedding and the girls were now on their way to book a venue that Professor Oak had instructed them to reserve. Delia walked several steps in front of the group of younger girls and they were attempting to keep their conversation low.

"So wait, you're telling me in almost five years you and Ash have never….eh?" Leaf's gesture was too crude to repeat here.

"Oh my GOSH, Leaf!" Serena screeched through an embarrassed chuckle, her face as red as a beet.

Misty, for her part, simply rubbed the bridge of her nose. It wasn't like the conversation bothered her that much. She wasn't a little kid, but still, Leaf. Really?

"Leaf, when would they have found time to do that?" Dawn asked.

"Girl, you make time for stuff like that," she responded.

"So how much time have you made for Gary?" Iris asked from behind.

"I am not the issue here, Mrs. Champion," Leaf said crossing her arms.

"Ash is dense about that kind of stuff, and he's a gentleman, and I never pushed the issue. So no. Why do you care!?" Misty said exasperated. She just wanted to get past the ridiculous and embarrassing gossip that Leaf Green seemed to revel in.

"I care about juicy gossip surrounding powerful people," Leaf said as if everyone should have known. "And this is juicy! So wait, Misty," Leaf raised an eyebrow and grinned, "is the most powerful woman in the pokemon world...a NUN!?"

Misty rolled her eyes, "Can we talk about something other than my sex life?"

"You've dated a few guys though, haven't you Misty?" May asked tapping her chin.

"Barely," Misty replied. "Look, I went out on a couple dates over the years, but I haven't been in a serious relationship until Ash, okay? That should answer your question. Can we move on with our lives here?"

"Girls, what are you talking about?" Delia suddenly stood in front of them with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

* * *

The guys all stood in front of various mirrors in the men's clothing store as they tried on the tuxedos that Delia had specified in a text. Ash grinned at the sight and thought that it made them all look like a group of secret agents.

"Ketchum, Ash Ketchum," he whispered while giving the best James Bond face he could muster.

"I'm really going to have to fine you if you ever do that again," Barry laughed patting Ash on the shoulder.

"We do look damn good though, don't we?" Gary said as he gave himself the once-over in his mirror. "I mean dayumn, how are those ladies going to keep their hands off us?"

Ash's phone suddenly vibrated and he pulled it out and then groaned.

"What's wrong?" Clemont asked.

"Oh I've got this interview scheduled with The Pokemon Times in an hour. I almost forgot about it."

"Perks of being a big shot in the league I'm afraid, Ash," Brock said knowingly, "and given your interesting display at the end of your match, I'd have to say they'll be more interested in your romantic relationship than your battle prowess."

Ash's phone vibrated again, this time with a text message from Misty. "Well it looks like you're right, Brocko. They just invited Misty to the interview. Ugh, do I have to do this?"

"No," Brock said, "but it is good for the fans to know their Champion, and it's a good look for the league to have the Champion put on a good face for the media. Don't worry, they just ask questions and you answer them."

"I guess. I do want to inspire young trainers," Ash said.

"And this is the perfect way! Since I've been promoting pokemon health care as an Elite Four member, interest has nearly tripled in the field. We've seen the number of young trainers plummet in the last few years, so I think you as champion and Misty as the Elite Four leader sharing your stories will help a lot. I know the media is annoying, Ash. But they can serve a purpose."

* * *

The couch on the interview set was firm and not nearly as comfortable as Ash had always imagined it to be. He kept having to adjust himself in the seat to get comfortable, and the fact that he was going into this thing nervous didn't help. Why was this so nerve-wracking when a pokemon battle in front of hundreds of thousands of screaming fans wasn't?

The makeup lady came by and dabbed her brush on Ash and Misty's faces once again as a final touchup before they went live. It tickled Ash's nose and he sneezed, which caused Misty to begin giggling, and Ash was afraid that they were both going to be going into the interview in a fit of laughter that they couldn't stop. But once the producer began glaring at them (she was surprisingly intimidating) they were able to attain a more serious tone.

Ash was surprised to see that it was Alexa who was conducting the interview. He hadn't seen her for several years, but recalled the short time they spent together in Kalos fondly. He and she caught up a bit, but he could tell that Misty didn't like her much.

The director instructed the trio to get ready to begin and then counted down from ten. Then Alexa started once the cameras went live, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Alexa Paquet and this is Pokemon Times Live. Today we have a special and exclusive interview to bring to you. Initially we were slated to only have the new champion on the show, should there have been one. But the, shall we say, interesting developments at the end of the Indigo League Conference have caused us to amend our initial plans and we have joining us the new Pokemon League Champion and his new fiancé, Leader Misty Waterflower. Thank you both for joining me."

"Thanks for having us," Misty responded and Ash nodded.

"Now first, let's talk about that battle," Alexa began, and Ash lit up, "Many are calling it the best official Pokemon League battle they have ever seen. What was it like for you two seasoned trainers?"

"It was certainly one of the most intense I've ever been in," Ash responded.

"I'd agree," Misty said, "I haven't had that much fun in a battle in years."

"And people know your record, Leader Waterflower, as you haven't been beaten in an official league match in years," Alexa said.

"Yes, it's my first loss period in at least five years. I honestly can't remember the last time I lost. Probably when I was still a gym leader."

"And Ash, what did it feel like in that moment you became champion?"

"I don't think I can describe it, Alexa," Ash responded. "It was something I've been working toward for over half my life now."

"Now you two, as it turns out, have quite a history together. We did a little digging after your battle, and as it turns out you two have known each other for over ten years?"

Ash and Misty nodded.

"You traveled together for several years it looks like until, Misty, you took over full time at the Cerulean Gym?"

"That's right," Misty replied.

"And Ash continued traveling and battling in various leagues around the world until a few years ago?"

"Actually," Ash said, "I took a break to help Mist and Brock prepare for their Elite Four exams after my stint in Kalos."

"So the world is interested since your little display after the end of your battle, as you may have guessed. Have you been a couple this whole time?"

Misty laughed, "Are you kidding? No."

"Well it depends on what you mean by 'couple,'" Ash said grinning.

"I couldn't stand this guy the first time I met him. He stole my bike and then destroyed it!" Misty said.

"She won't get over that, twelve years later," Ash laughed.

"But you two started traveling together after that?" Alexa pressed.

"Yeah," Misty said, a look of nostalgia crossed her face as she recalled the fond memories. "Initially I started following him with the goal of having him pay for my bike. But…"

"Yes?" Alexa leaned forward.

"But I kind of ended up falling in love with him," Misty blushed slightly.

"But you weren't a couple?"

"How could we be when he only had eyes for pokemon?" she laughed.

"I didn't just have eyes for pokemon. Just mostly pokemon. It's not like I didn't notice Misty, it's just that girls weren't a thing I thought about that much back then. We were only ten for Mew's sake," Ash defended himself.

"But you noticed him?" Alexa looked to Misty.

Misty rolled her eyes and then grinned at Ash, "Yes, and you don't know how inconvenient that was at times."

"And you two traveled together for over four years?"

"Thereabouts," Misty nodded. "Brock was there as well for most of it, and our friend Tracey when we traveled through the Orange Islands."

"So for over four years you hid that you were in love with him, he didn't seem to realize it, and then you had to leave? That must have been hard."

"Yeah, it was, but we were young, and I think it was for the best. I was able to develop as a trainer and a gym leader, and Ash was able to live his dream to travel around on his path to becoming a pokemon master."

"So when did you two make it official?"

Ash and Misty looked at each other and smiled, and Ash said, "That's a story in itself."

* * *

 **Almost five years ago:**

"Like, wow sis, you look good," Daisy said as Misty rushed back and forth through her bedroom putting the finishing touches on her outfit. "You have a date tonight?"

"No, it's not a date," Misty replied tersely.

"So why the extra makeup?" Lily piped in suddenly standing at the door.

Did her sisters have a sixth sense about her love life or something? They always showed up to make comments whenever she had a date. Or a non-date in this case.

"So what is going on?" Violet was the next to appear.

Misty pushed her last earring into place and smoothed out her sweater as she turned and looked at herself. Finally satisfied she turned to her sisters, "How do I look?"

"Like you're going on a date, sis," Daisy laughed again.

"If you three must know, Ash is coming today," Misty blurted as she pushed past her sisters and headed toward the main living area in the gym.

"Oh her little boyfriend is coming! That's so cute! So it is a date!" Lily cooed.

"It is not a date. And he's not my boyfriend," Misty said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Okay, so let's just say you getting all gussied up is, like, not an indication of whether this is a date or not," Violet smirked, "then what exactly is going on?"

"Ash is going to help Brock and me prepare for the Elite Four entrance exams," Misty said crossing her arms. "He's one of the most knowledgeable trainers I know, and he offered to help when I talked to him last. He's going to stay here for a few weeks."

"He's going to live with you? But this isn't at date?" The sensational sisters just grinned at their younger sibling. Misty rolled her eyes and headed toward the lobby of the gym to wait for Ash.

And then he walked in, the doors slid open and revealed the tanned young man. He was taller, much taller, than the last time she'd seen him. His coat fit tighter and his shoulders were broader. Pikachu, who was riding on one shoulder, suddenly jumped to the ogling Misty and she gasped in surprise as she caught him and began to laugh.

"Pikachupi!"

"Hey Pikachu! It's good to see you too!" She cooed at him as she scratched him behind the ear. She then looked to the object of her affection, "Hey, Mr. Pokemon Master."

"Hey Mist," he replied, sending that annoying shiver up her spine. She never knew what to do at that point. She always had an urge to give Ash a hug or something, but she was never sure what the limits should be in their relationship. She knew she loved him, but he had never completely revealed how he felt other than being close friends. She was scared to complicate that friendship, and was scared of rejection. Luckily for her, she didn't have to react at all. Ash closed all of the distance between them and pulled her into a big hug. She stood surprised for a moment, but happily wrapped her arms around him and returned the gesture.

"It's good to see you again, Ash," she said softly.

He pulled away and looked at her, "Your hair is long. You actually look like a girl now, you know?"

She pushed him and lifted her index finger to scold him, "I'll have you know, Ash Ketchum, that I always look like a girl, and I have the date requests to prove it!"

"Sure, Mist," he laughed putting his hands behind his head.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu scolded Ash unintelligibly from Misty's shoulder.

"At least your pokemon isn't as dense as you are, Ketchum," she giggled.

"So," Ash said clapping his hands together, "let's start your training, Miss Pokemon Master!"

* * *

The weeks passed by and Ash, Misty, and Brock spent an inordinate amount of time together. Brock would come and go as his responsibilities demanded he be in Pewter City a good bit of the time, but Ash and Misty were almost inseparable. Hours out of their day they would study, train, and talk. But Misty began to get restless as things never seemed to progress beyond their close friendship. Occasionally there would be a close moment where their shoulders would brush or their hands would touch and the moment would linger, but Ash would always pull away or quickly distract himself with something else.

During a moment alone with Brock, Misty finally confided in him. Of course Brock revealed to her that everyone already knew she and Ash had a thing for each other, and scolded her for not seeing it herself, but she wasn't for sure. What was Brock's advice? "You may have to make the first move, Misty. Ash is as dense as they come in the affairs of love."

Of course the irony of taking love advice from the man she used to drag away from annoyed women by his ear was thick, but it was something she pondered for several more weeks.

One day, their time together nearing its end as the Elite Four trial dates approached, Misty awoke early to fire up a pot of coffee to prepare for more sparring with Ash. She walked into the living area and was surprised to see Ash's raven locks peeking over the top of the couch. Pikachu was nowhere to be seen. Ash was alone in the dimly lit room simply staring ahead. She approached him cautiously, not really sure what to make of his posture. She made her way around the couch and sat next to him.

"Hey," she said as she smiled at him.

He looked up and attempted to wipe the look of sadness and defeat off his face with a smile, but he wasn't completely successful.

"Hey Mist," he replied, "You're up early."

"I thought I'd get some coffee going. Have you slept?" she asked, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

"Oh, uh, not really. Couldn't."

"You're going to be tired for our training today," she said.

"Yeah, sorry," he said softly.

"What's wrong, Ash?" she asked, placing a hand on his.

"I was just thinking, I'm having so much fun helping you and Brock prepare to become pokemon masters. But it's going to end soon."

She sighed. She too was dreading the prospect of their time together ending. She'd enjoyed being with him so much for those several weeks, and she still was no closer to exploring whether they could be something more. "Yeah, I'm not looking forward to it either, Ash. What will you do?"

"I don't know," he said with a sigh. "You know, I was so close in Kalos to becoming a Pokemon Master. I was right there! But no matter what I do, it seems I always fall just short."

She wasn't sure what to say, but she could tell his mood was melancholy, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him like that.

"I hope you and Brock fulfill your dream," he said and smiled at her. "One of our group at least ought to."

And it hit her what the problem was. Ash was pouring so much into his friends, he always did after all, and he was about to see them reach a level that had always eluded him. Yet he was doing everything he could to help her become a Pokemon Master. Her dream was at her fingertips while his always seemed miles away.

"Ash," she said softly, not realizing how close she'd gotten to him on the couch, "I don't call you Mr. Pokemon Master ironically anymore. You're one of the best. I know you'll do it someday! You can't stop trying!" Misty looped her arm in his and laid her head onto his shoulder. Ash tensed slightly, but then she felt him relax as she allowed more of her body to lean against his. "Thank you so much for what you've done for me."

They sat there in a comfortable silence for several minutes. Misty simply enjoyed the warmth of Ash's body and the smell of his cologne and deodorant.

"Ash," she finally said softly, "I want you to know something."

"Uh, yeah?" he asked as she straightened up and shifted on the couch so she was facing him.

This was it. She wasn't going to put it off any longer. She had to say it, no matter what came of it.

"We've been friends for a long time, right?" she started.

"Well, yeah," Ash answered smiling, "best friends."

She smiled at him, "And I never want that to end. But…" she paused and took a deep breath, "there's been something that I've wanted to say to you for a really long time. I…uh…" she growled in frustration and put her face in her hands as her courage seemed to falter, "why is something that's so easy so hard to say!?"

Ash looked at her puzzled and then took her hand, "Mist, you can say whatever you need to me. It's not going to change the fact that you're my friend."

She looked back up at him and directly into his brown eyes, "Ash, I…love you."

The eyes she looked into widened and his face morphed from a smile into shock. But it was too late to stop now. She had to finish.

"I…I've loved you for a long time. Since I was a little girl, actually. And I don't think I can go on without you at least knowing how I feel." She looked down, scared and embarrassed of what his reaction would be.

They both sat in silence for another few moments. Misty still stared at her crossed legs in front of her, and began to worry when Ash didn't say anything.

"Mist," he began, "I'm not good at this kind of stuff at all, and I'm really bad at even deciphering my own feelings a lot of the time. But I do know that since I met you, nothing has been quite the same. I've met other girls and spent time with them traveling and training, but I've never spent a day without thinking of you, wishing you were there too. I've always thought it was strange that I think of you when I'm with them, and that I've always felt differently about you. I'm not sure I've ever been able to articulate what it is that I feel when I think of you, and it's honestly always been a little frustrating," he chuckled slightly. "But….I think I finally understand it."

He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face and looked deep into her eyes, "I'm pretty sure I love you too, Mist."

And for Misty, the moment became all she'd dreamed and more. She laughed as she lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck and smashed her lips against his. Their first kiss was rough and uneven at first, but then as Ash's shock wore off and Misty evened herself out, it became pleasant and sensuous.

They finally pulled apart as their air supply began to run out, and Misty smiled, still riding her high, "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," she said.

"I'm not going to lie," Ash said, "that was really nice. Can…we do that more often?"

Misty laughed, "I would think so, Mr. Pokemon Master," she said and leaned back in to kiss him again.

Suddenly, a loud, "A-HA!" rang through the living room as Misty suddenly shot to the far end of the couch, her face red as a beet, as Daisy stormed around from the other side of the couch to stand in front of the new official couple with a teasing smirk on her face.

* * *

 **Present day:**

"And I guess the rest is history," Misty finished the story. She hadn't talked about herself to anyone for so long like that in a long time, and didn't particularly enjoy doing it, but knowing the media's appetite for a romantic story, she figured it was best to get the whole thing out there and behind them so she and Ash weren't fielding questions about it for the next five years.

Alexa had taken to simply listening and had placed her chin in her hand as Misty and Ash had recounted their story. "That was beautiful," she said softly before straightening up and remembering she was conducting an interview. "Uh…so…the word around town is that you, Leader Waterflower, have been seen in a bridal shop as late as today in fact."

Misty looked at Ash and he shrugged. She figured there was no use hiding it, "Well actually, we've decided to forego a long engagement and are going to be married on Saturday."

"That is big news, and you're hearing it here first folks, on Pokemon Times Live. Unfortunately we're out of time, but we'll be sure to have continuing coverage of all of the upcoming Pokemon League events, and it seems even some wedding coverage!"

And with that the director yelled "cut" and the interview was over. The three stood and Alexa reached her hand out to Misty, "I know there's been some tension between us given our respective positions, Misty," she said as Misty took her hand and shook it, "but seriously, congratulations. You two look really happy together. And this interview was probably my best one ever! I could win an award for this! Thank you both so much!"

Misty smiled and nodded. It was always a little annoying to deal with the media, but not even that could bother her at that moment. And with Ash by her side now, she wasn't sure there was much of anything that could bother her anymore.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy 20th anniversary, Pokemon Anime! My recent stories have all been tributes, but this chapter specifically is a celebration of 20 years of the Pokemon anime. I haven't agreed with everything they've done in the show, but it's my childhood. Especially the first few seasons.**

 **And it's also the 20th anniversary of Pokeshipping aka AAML. The original! So you get a lot of that in this chapter. I'm trying to include romance in the story without being too sickeningly fluffy. Let me know if I'm doing a good job.**

 **I hope this slice of life chapter was enjoyable. Gary and Leaf I always imagine like to try to embarrass their friends. I hope those parts weren't too awkward.**

 **Again, let's celebrate 20 years of Ash, Misty, Brock, and the others. Till next time!**


	9. Wedding Bell Bliss?

Misty stared at her ceiling. The day had come, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it, so she had decided simply to count all the little specks of sparkle on the ceiling and procrastinate as long as she could, because otherwise she thought that the impending panic attack might take over. In just a few short hours she was going to be married. She couldn't quite wrap her head around it. And so rather than try, she had made it up to 573 sparkles on her ceiling. That is until two smiling faces popped into her vision and two pairs of hands started hoisting her out of her bed.

"Let's go sleepy head," May said.

"Yep, you can't get out of this," Dawn added as they pulled her to her feet.

"Alright girls, here's the itinerary," Delia announced upon entering the bedroom, "First, Misty: shower. Now! Once we get to the wedding venue: Iris and Serena, you two are on hair duty. Dawn and May, you two are getting the dresses ready. Sensational sisters, you're doing makeup. Lucy and I are supervising and getting things ready."

Serena piped up, "We'll have an extra set of hands! Bonnie just texted and her plane has just landed. She'll meet us there!"

Misty raised her hand, and through a groggy haze announced, "Before anything else happens: Coffee!"

* * *

Ash clutched the edges of the bathroom sink as Gary pounded on the door. But Ash couldn't really hear his friend. He couldn't really hear anything but the pounding of his own heart and his heavy breathing. He. Was. Getting. Married! That thought was kicking his mental butt and he couldn't quite get himself to step into the shower that had been running for the past few minutes, waiting for him to get in.

"Dammit, Ketchum, I'm going to break down this door if you don't answer me!"

Ash finally acknowledged the loud pounding at the door to the bathroom and flung it open. He'd forgotten he was about to step into the shower, and so Gary got the entire show.

"AGH!" Gary yelled and covered his eyes. "Put that away, Ketchum, geez!"

"Ah shit," Ash said and jumped behind the shower curtain, smarting a bit at the slightly too hot water that hit his skin.

"For crying out loud, Ketchum, I probably saw you naked before Red did! Why me?" Gary moaned. "This is what I get for helping you get ready to get hitched."

"I didn't ask for you to supervise, Gary," Ash responded from behind the shower curtain.

"No, your mom did. I'm beginning to think Iris has a point about you being a kid!"

"Settle down in there you two," Brock called out from the hotel bedroom as he laid out the tuxedoes for each respective groomsman.

Ash finished his shower and Gary happily shut the door and plopped down into the armchair in the corner of the hotel room. Brock and Tracey were accounting for all of the tuxedoes while Drew, Barry, Clemont, and Max laid out corsages and cufflinks.

After several more minutes, Ash finally emerged in a pair of black slacks and a white t-shirt. Brock couldn't help but notice Ash's mood seemed different. He looked almost shell-shocked as he took a seat on the edge of the bed and pulled on his shoes.

The rest of the guys all began to mull around the room as they slowly but surely put on their tuxedoes, slacks, shoes, and corsages. Brock's suit had a little bit of flair to it as the best man, while the rest of the guys had light blue shirts and slightly darker bowties under their tuxedoes and suit coats. Brock checked the mirror and, in his estimation, the group of them looked pretty damn good.

He turned from the mirror and was shocked to see Ash still sitting on the edge of the bed with only his black slacks, shoes and a white undershirt on.

"Ash, you've got to get ready man," Brock urged, "you're getting married in a couple hours."

At that Ash stood and grabbed his Pokeball belt and rushed to the balcony, throwing the door open and releasing his charizard.

"I've got to get some air!" he yelled as he jumped on the orange lizard's back and took off.

"ASH!" Brock yelled after him.

The rest of the guys were stunned silent and were all taking turns looking at each other, and then looking to Brock for guidance.

"Gary," Brock said, thinking quickly, "Do you have your aerodactyl with you?"

"Uh, yeah," Gary said hesitantly.

"Let me borrow him."

Gary pulled off the pokeball and Brock approached the balcony and released the ancient pokemon.

"Listen to him for a while, buddy," Gary instructed.

Brock told the flying type to follow the charizard in the sky, and Aerodactyl took off faster than Brock was used to.

"What are you doing, Ash?" Brock mumbled.

* * *

Misty felt numb. Iris had done her hair over the course of about an hour which had given Misty a good hour to just sit and stare straight ahead which had provided her far too much time to stew in her own thoughts. A feeling of restlessness and panic had begun to set in and she had excused herself from the group and had simply sat in her room in the dark. She didn't know how long she'd been in there, but it was long enough to start hearing knocks from the other side and her friends had begun to sound concerned. But she found herself unable to stand.

She was fully decked out and ready for her wedding. Her light blue dress was beautiful and sparkled in the light. Her hair was immaculate and was formed into a beautiful pattern with pearls weaved in. Her shoes matched her dress and the heels gave her another two inches in height. Dawn and May had oohed and aahed and repeatedly told her how beautiful she looked. Iris said she was a little jealous that her dress hadn't even looked that good at her wedding. Leaf and Serena had both been quiet, but looked as if something had been weighing on their minds. Bonnie had been a ball of energy ever since her flight had come in, and she had shown the most exuberance regarding the whole event.

But Misty was full of doubt and anxiety. And then she found Delia seated next to her suddenly, and was slightly shocked as she could have sworn she'd locked the door.

"Misty, it's almost time," Delia said softly and placed her hand on Misty's.

Misty took a shaky breath and squeaked out, "Okay." But she still didn't move.

Delia, of course, could sense Misty's mood, and so quietly and patiently sat next to her soon-to-be daughter-in-law to offer her some comfort with her presence. They were close, the two of them. Their shared affection for Ash and their relatively close proximity had formed a natural bond, and the two had spent many years worrying, hoping, and cheering Ash on together, even before they were a couple. They would meet often to chat over coffee. Misty would help Delia with things around her house and Delia would visit the gym when she could. Delia had always sensed Misty's infatuation with her son, and she had always been fond of the young fiery redhead. Their relationship had naturally formed into something akin to a mother-daughter bond. They loved each other like family, so they both considered the official paperwork almost extraneous.

But Misty was scared, and she needed advice from her…from her mother.

"I don't know how to do this," she finally confessed, so softly that it barely registered as a whisper. But Delia heard her.

"Do what, dear?"

"I didn't have a mom or a dad. I never saw how a family was supposed to work. I don't know how to be a wife. I've relied on myself for so long…. I don't know if I'm ready to rely on someone else…to have them rely on me," Misty subconsciously tightened her grip on Delia's hand.

"Oh, Misty, dear," Delia cooed and pulled the bride into a hug. "But Misty, don't you realize you've already done all of that?" Delia asked. "When you two traveled with each other, you relied on each other in various ways, didn't you? When you decided to pursue this relationship, you both began relying on one another, even from long distances. I mean how many times did you save my son's life?"

Misty smiled, "I guess more than I can count."

"Misty, dear, I know you two already love each other dearly. I wouldn't have suggested such a brief engagement if I didn't think that. That's not just what you feel in here," she pointed to Misty's stomach, "but it's also what you've done. You're loyal, you're patient, you're devoted, and you two have moved mountains for one another. I don't believe you when you say you don't know how to be a wife. I think you've known how to be a wife for years."

They were silent for a while until Misty turned to Delia and smiled. "Thank you so much….mom," she said and embraced her mom (well she may as well have been). Delia returned the hug and squeezed her new daughter tight. They separated and stood and Misty was finally ready. No more doubts and fears penetrated her psyche, only a deep determined love for the one she would soon be bound to forever.

* * *

Brock finally caught up with Ash on top of a grassy hill just outside of the city. The younger man was sitting in the shade of a tree with his starter pokemon in his lap as he stared off into the distance. Aerodactyl landed about twenty yards away and Brock asked it to wait there as he slowly approached his friend.

Cautiously, Brock asked, "Hey buddy, what's going on?"

Ash turned to him briefly and then looked back off into the distance. "I was starting to feel like I couldn't breathe in there," Ash responded. "I don't know what happened. I got queasy, started to sweat, and I felt like I just needed to get out or I was going to pass out. I was just thinking of the wedding and boom!"

Brock nodded knowingly, "Sounds like a panic attack to me."

Ash's face scrunched up at that and he gave Brock a sideways look, "A panic attack!? I don't have panic attacks!"

Brock sat down beside his friend and took in the pleasant view of Kanto, "Well what do you think is going on then?"

"I've placed highly in seven league tournaments, Brock," Ash said, "I've battled in some of the most intense pokemon matches I can imagine. Some of them have been life or death situations! And you're telling me the prospect of marrying Misty gave me a panic attack over all those!?"

"Apparently," Brock said through a grin. "Are you nervous about it?"

Ash sat for a moment and considered the question thoughtfully before replying, "I guess maybe a little. Maybe more as the wedding gets closer."

"Why?" Brock asked.

"Well," Ash paused and looked for the right words to say, "I mean this is it for only relying on myself, right? Instead of just Ash Ketchum, it's now going to be, now and forever, Ash and Misty."

"Is that a problem?"

"NO!" Ash yelled, and then reigned it in, "No. It's just…different. I don't know. Am I ready for that responsibility? I know I don't deserve Misty, and I don't want to let her down."

"Ash, you've always been selfless," Brock said, placing his arm around his younger friend. "You always have been sure to place your friends' hopes and dreams before your own, even if it hurts you. Now you just get to focus on doing that with one person especially. I don't think you two have anything to worry about. You're perfect for each other and you both deserve to be happy. You're my best friends! Would I ever lead you guys astray?"

"No," Ash said.

"I think a lot of people start getting nervous before their wedding, bud," Brock said.

Ash sighed and smiled. Brock had always been able to help him feel better. He supposed it was second nature after helping raise nine siblings.

"Thanks Brock," Ash said and stood up.

"Well let's get back, you still have to finish getting ready, and then you have a certain redhead to get married to," Brock said with a wink. He looked at his watch and his demeanor changed from pleasant to panic in an instant. "Ash! You only have 15 minutes before it starts!"

"WHAT!?" Ash yelled and quickly called out Charizard and climbed on his back.

Cutting it close. An Ash Ketchum specialty.

* * *

Serena smiled as she and the rest of the girls put the finishing touches on the bride. She glanced at her watch and saw that they only had 15 minutes, and that the ushers (Todd Snap and Ritchie [who had both been able make the wedding on short notice]) were probably almost done seating everyone. She excused herself from the group and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. At least in part. She also just needed a moment alone. She and Misty were now close friends, but it hadn't started that way. In fact, there had been a time when Serena didn't like Misty at all when she barely even knew her. Not only did their personalities clash at first, Misty being very type-a and extroverted (Serena would have even said she was pushy at one point), and Serena being quieter, more reserved, and introverted. But there was also the issue about their mutual affection for Ash Ketchum.

Serena checked her makeup and added a dab of lipstick. She was happy for the wedding couple; her good friends. But there was something in the pit of her stomach that was still unsettled. She'd look at the two of them together and the reality that someone she cared deeply about could never feel the way she had felt for him. Her relationship with Clemont was great, and she cared for him a lot, but Ash had been her first crush. She'd pined over him for years. And then the opportunity to travel with him had given her a hope that never came to fruition. She'd only grown more enamored with the budding pokemon master as they traveled through Kalos together. She'd fallen in love with him. And when they parted; he heading home to Pallet town, she traveling to Hoenn to try her hand at pokemon coordinating, she had tried to let him know just how she felt with a kiss.

She had been down slightly when he didn't seem to reciprocate her gesture, but she had hoped he just needed some time to process it. She knew he was relatively dense when it came to romance at the time and hoped some time apart gave him an opportunity to think about what the gesture meant. But then came the Christmas party at the Ketchum house a little over three years ago.

 **Three years ago:**

Serena and May had arrived the day before for the party. The reunion with Ash and Brock (who Serena was eager to meet as he was the person who had traveled with Ash the longest) was pleasant and cordial. She had hugged him and he seemed unfazed about the physical contact, but he gave May a hug as well. Oh well, she had several days before she had to head back to Hoenn with May for the next big contest. She'd see where she stood at some point.

Her time as a Pokemon Coordinator in Hoenn had been exciting. She'd met some of the most interesting people, and all of them seemed to have some connection to Ash. She met May at the first contest she attended. She hadn't participated, but had attended to get a feel for the competition. They were quite a bit like the Pokemon Showcases she participated in in Kalos with slight differences she'd have to adjust to.

She'd also met Drew, who clearly had it bad for May, and Dawn, who hung around a dedicated group of friends as well. It seemed both former female traveling companions of Ash weren't that interested in him romantically, though Serena thought there was a slight sparkle in Dawn's eye when he came up as a topic of conversation. She met Paul, who she really thought woke up on the wrong side of the bed most days. Zoey, Solidad, Harley, the list went on and on. The coordinating scene was huge in Hoenn. She'd have to train hard to make any impact. Luckily, she'd begun to travel with May who had taken her on as something of an apprentice, and was advancing nicely.

The first day at the Ketchum house that holiday, Serena, May, and Brock were the first to arrive. Brock was everything she'd been told and then some. She laughed at his stories of his time with Ash and made sure to be around the object of her affection as much as possible. Flirting was not really her strong suit, but she was a young woman after all. She did have some skills in that department, and she used them. To her chagrin, however, Ash didn't seem to really react one way or another when she'd laugh at his dumb jokes, place her hand on his shoulder, brush against his hand, or blink her large eyes seductively. She thought maybe Brock had given her a sideways glance or two every once in a while when she did turn on the charm, but sometimes it was hard to tell what he was looking at.

They had a lot of fun catching up, joking, talking, relaying stories from their journeys. Brock talked about his time as a member of the Kanto Elite Four. May and Serena let the two guys know how all of their friends in the coordinating scene were doing. They even went to a burger joint. Serena was having a great time, and Ash seemed happy to be with them all. He seemed happy to be with her.

They all slept in sex-segregated rooms. Ash and Brock slept on the couch and chair in the living room while May and Serena took over Ash's room. May let her sleep in Ash's bed (SQUEEEE) while May took an air mattress on the floor.

"Serena," May said with a slight grin on her face, "is it just me or is one of us flirting with Ash?"

Serena was a bit surprised. She didn't think anyone had really caught on. "Uh…which of us are we talking about?"

May rolled over to face her, "Oh come on, you're literally the only one who has ever laughed at that stupid pirate story of his."

Serena was glad it was dark, because her face was surely beet red, "I…uh…maybe?"

"HA! I knew it!" May laughed, "Why didn't you tell me you had a thing for him?"

"I don't know. I'm still a little shy about it and it never really came up," Serena answered.

"Well you should know you're not going to get through his thick skull with simple flirting," May said, "I'm not even sure he'd realize what romance was if someone kissed the guy."

Serena stayed quiet for a moment and May seemed to catch on, "Oh my gosh! You've kissed him, haven't you!?"

"Y-yeah."

May sat up and plopped down on the end of Ash's bed, prompting Serena to suddenly sit up herself. "Okay, when did this happen!?" May demanded.

"We were at the Lumiose airport and were saying goodbyes after the Kalos League and were all saying goodbye. I wasn't really thinking, but I wanted him to know how I felt. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, so I…kind of just kissed him and left."

May had placed her chin in her hand and had a big grin on her face, "Well this is big. Huge!"

"I'm just feeling him out right now," Serena continued. "I'm not really sure where we stand, honestly. He hasn't mentioned it and doesn't seem to respond to my advances one way or the other."

"Like I said," May laughed and pointed to her own head in lieu of Ash's, "he's dense."

"You…you don't…like him like that, do you?" Serena probed carefully.

"HA!" May guffawed. "No no. Gosh that would be like dating myself. Weird. Plus, Drew would pout too much if I dated some other guy."

"What about Dawn? She always seemed to light up when Ash would come up."

"Eh," May said waving her hand, "I think she had a thing for him at some point, but she's got a lot of guys competing for her heart in her group of friends. Barry, Kenny, and even Paul. I think she'll end up with one of them."

That was music to Serena's ears. No competition from either one of Ash's close female friends!

"Misty though…" May said and tapped her chin.

"Huh!?" Serena said shocked.

"Oh, Misty. The first girl who traveled with Ash. She had it bad for him," May said, "but it was always something she told me never to mention to him, and I'm not sure that she's still interested after all this time. Last I heard she'd gone out a couple times with this Georgio guy. I'm not even sure if she'll make the party tomorrow. She's pretty busy."

"Every time Ash talked about Misty with me," Serena said, "he always seemed fond of her. But he also mentioned how they fought a lot."

"Yeah they were both pretty precocious kids back in the day," May reminisced. "I dunno, I kind of thought something was going on between them whether they knew it or not. But she's not here and you are," she said pointing to Serena, "so there's no reason for you not to try, am I right?"

Serena nodded relieved. Tomorrow was a new day and a new opportunity to win the heart of the boy she'd fallen for.

* * *

The next day started much the same as the previous day, only the decorating had shifted into full swing. Serena had opted to help Ash's mother cook the Christmas Eve dinner while Brock worked on the cookies. Ash and May had been setting up various Christmas decorations around the house and were now working with Charizard to hang lights on the trees in the yard. Iris and Cilan showed up next, and after a while longer, Drew and Max showed up. Finally, Ash's friends Ritchie and Tracey pulled in and the party got started.

She roamed around the party for a bit and tried to meet as many of Ash's older friends as she could. Tracey and Ritchie were very friendly. Iris and Cilan were inseparable and often held hands. There was clearly something going on there. Drew was a little standoffish and hung around May for the most part, and Max was precocious and clearly a knowledgeable young pokemon trainer. She learned that Clemont, Bonnie, and Dawn had all regrettably had to cancel. Dawn was visiting with Barry and his family, while Clemont and Bonnie had both decided to spend Christmas with their dad.

The food was great and as the night went on she was able to spend more and more time with Ash. She'd even taken to grabbing his arm every once in a while as they talked to friends. She was for sure this time that some eyebrows were raising, especially Brock's.

And then entered the last two people to attend the Christmas party that year. A tall young man with spiky brown hair and an unforgettable swagger about him threw the front door open and made an entrance that he was sure everyone noticed, and he was followed by a girl who was wrapped up in several layers to avoid the cold air.

"Ashy-boy!" the young brown haired man grabbed Ash away from Serena and enveloped him in a big hug.

"Gary," Ash grunted out under the pressure of the bearhug, "glad you could make it, buddy!"

"Me too, and I picked up Red for you like you asked," he said and gestured to the young woman who had peeled off her heavy coat and was now in a simple green form fitting sweater that was definitely kind to her shapely assets, and a pair of tight blue jeans. Her hair was indeed shockingly red and it was pulled up into a long side ponytail that fell just past her shoulder. It swung while she walked toward the three of them, hips swaying as each high-heeled boot clicked against the tile floor. Her cerulean green eyes glistened as she revealed a broad smile. Serena did not like this girl already. Not. One. Bit.

Ash pulled away from Serena and Gary and quickly made his way to the girl and, to Serena's dismay, enveloped her in a huge hug that the girl readily returned. And then Serena's world seemed to freeze as the girl reached up with her face, her eyes, her LIPS, and placed them on Ash's. It was brief, but it was clearly sensuous and it sent shockwaves through Serena's entire psyche.

She shook her head to clear the shock. No one else seemed to have noticed the kiss. The various partygoers approached Ash and the girl, who now stood conspicuously close to each other, and excitedly exchanged pleasantries with her. May gave her a hug, as did Brock and Tracey, and the others were clearly close to her as well. Serena was beginning to feel invisible.

"Misty!" a loud squeal erupted from the kitchen as Delia rushed out and enveloped the girl…Misty…into a huge hug. Misty laughed and returned the hug.

"Hi Mrs. Ketchum, it's good to see you!" she said affectionately.

"Misty, you know good and well it's Delia to you," Ash's mom said as she cupped Misty's face in her hands and looked her over. "You look beautiful, Misty," she said and elbowed Ash. Oh no, what did that mean!?

"You're looking well too," Misty said through a bright genuine smile.

Serena suddenly found herself alone on the other side of the room with crossed arms and scowling at the attention the newly arrived girl was receiving, especially from Ash. It looked like her hopes of not having any competition for Ash's affections were suddenly dashed. What was the story here? Were they dating?

Suddenly, she realized the redhead was walking right to her, hips doing the same annoying sway as when she walked into the room, with a bright smile.

"Hello! You must be Serena!" she said excitedly, reaching out her hand to shake Serena's. "It's nice to finally meet you. Ash has told me so much!"

"Oh?" Serena said, somewhat bashful all of a sudden. It took her a second, but she finally returned Misty's handshake. "Really? How much?"

Misty looked a little taken aback, not expecting the curt and atypical greeting from the pretty blonde. But Serena wanted to know if this girl knew what happened at the Lumiose airport, and Misty recovered quickly and continued with her amicable introduction.

"Oh a lot. He told me about you and Bonnie and Clemont and how much you all helped him out. I know he appreciated it being so far from home."

"He mentioned you a few times, but we were pretty busy," Serena replied.

"Oh," Misty said and shuffled slightly uncomfortably, "uh yeah, we'd been out of touch for a few months at that point."

What followed next was one of the most awkward silences Serena could remember having been party to in her entire life. She finally decided to excuse herself from the room altogether.

"I'm, uh, going to go see if Mrs. Ketchum needs any more help in the kitchen," she said and hurried out of the room.

* * *

May watched the exchange between Misty and Serena with some interest, and some dread. She had assumed Misty, the freaking leader of the Elite Four, would be far too busy to make a simple small-town Christmas Party at the Ketchum's. But here she was, and she seemed as familiar as ever with everyone, especially Delia, who was treating Misty like her own daughter. But what did that mean?

She glanced over to Ash, who had taken up residence next to Iris, Cilan, and Tracey and was chattering away happily. She then glanced back to Misty and Serena and saw the latter hurry out of the room while Misty looked befuddled after her. Then the redhead turned and made her way over to Ash and took up residence very very close to him.

 _Oh shit,_ May thought as a feeling of dread rushed through her. She quickly made her way over to Misty, "Hey, can you come help me with…my hair?"

Misty looked bemused, but giggled and nodded and followed the brunette to the bathroom. May closed the door behind them and locked it and then started in: "Are you and Ash dating!?"

Misty's bemused look changed to one of surprise, "Uh…well…yeah. We weren't really telling many people yet. How did you guess?"

"Well for one, you're the busy leader of the Elite Four and you made it to this dinky little Christmas party," May started, "and two you're both awfully close to each other tonight. Though I may have been the only one watching…"

"Yeah, I guess I didn't really think about it…" Misty said, still not sure where the conversation was going. "Is this a problem?"

"For me?" May said. "Hell no. But I…uh….may have told Serena that I didn't think you were interested in Ash anymore…"

"Serena? Wait, does she have a thing for Ash?" Misty queried.

"Oh does she!" May answered, "Has Ash seriously not told you about it?"

Misty's eyes narrowed, "No, he hasn't."

* * *

Serena walked back into the living room with a tray full of crackers and dip and set it down on the coffee table and told everyone to dig in. She took a look around the room and noticed that the redhead she'd taken an immediate disliking to (which she did feel slightly guilty about) was gone. Ash was, at the moment, talking with Tracey. She took a deep breath. She may not get another chance. She had to know.

"Ash," she said feebly as she approached him. His brown eyes met hers and he smiled.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Could I talk to you? In private?"

Tracey immediately looked uncomfortable, but Ash, as always, was unfazed, "Sure. Be right back, Trace."

They left the room and Serena quickly dragged Ash through the kitchen and then out the back door onto the deck of the Ketchum house. She turned to him, trying to fight the nervousness while looking for the right words to say.

"Look, Ash," she started, "uh…remember the last time we were together in Kalos?"

Now Ash started to look a little uncomfortable, "Uh, yeah."

"I did something because of the way I feel about you, but I'm not sure if you got it. You've been really nice and a good friend, but…" she stopped. She didn't know how to finish. She didn't know what to say, so she defaulted to what Kalosians did best. She stepped up to him and kissed him again.

Then, in quick succession, several things happened rather quickly. Ash gasped and moved back slightly. She fell forward and grabbed hold of him to steady herself. The back door opened and revealed a seething redhead and a horrified brunette.

For a moment, Serena thought Misty's head was going to explode. It turned bright red and she thought she could make out every vein in her forehead. But Misty stopped and closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before calmly stepping forward.

"Serena, I guess this is our fault," she pointed to herself and Ash, "we probably should have told everyone that we're dating."

Serena's shoulder slumped and her face fell.

"Also," Misty said through gritted teeth, glaring at Ash, "Ash never told me about the history between you two."

"History!?" Ash protested. "We're just good friends!"

"Ash, she told May that you two kissed before! I never knew that!" Misty said crossing her arms and standing next to the two girls.

Suddenly Ash was keenly aware he was being ganged up on.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal! I'm sorry, Serena! I was really confused after that and I didn't know exactly what it meant. And I didn't think it was relevant to us, Mist!"

Poor Serena had tried to hold back her tears, but there was just too much going on at that moment. Ash and Misty beginning to argue and the stunned May next to her, as well as the revelation that her long-time crush was with someone else pushed her over the edge. She didn't like to cry in front of people. She wasn't a weepy person either. But the whole situation was terribly emotionally charged, and so, embarrassed and devastated, she placed her hand on her mouth, turned her back to the group, and began walking away while the sobs ripped through her body.

* * *

Misty watched wide eyed as the blonde girl she didn't even know began to break down in front of her because of something she had done. Of course, Misty had no reason to feel bad about her position. She had no reason to feel any shame for being with Ash. But looking at Serena evoked a deep sympathy for the girl who had just kissed _her_ boyfriend, and Misty knew why. She was seeing what could have been her. Just a few months ago herself she had made herself vulnerable and told Ash how she felt about him. He could have rejected her, and, though Misty would not have cried in front of him, she would have cried. She would have been crushed. She would have seen years of yearning and waiting wasted. Her heart would have been broken, and looking at Serena at that moment through her slightly misty cerulean eyes, she could only imagine all those feelings. But Serena was experiencing them.

Misty knew Serena probably didn't want much at all to do with her: the girl who got in her way, but she didn't care. She felt so bad for Serena and she couldn't simply stand there and watch her cry, so slowly and deliberately, Misty approached Serena and gently pulled her into a hug. And for a moment, Serena sobbed in the redhead's arms.

* * *

Serena soon realized what was going on after having taken solace in the arms that had embraced her, and a strange mixture of emotions rose from her gut. There was slight gratitude, but even more so was pride and anger. Anger that this girl who caused her grief would suddenly show her sympathy. And so she pushed the redhead off.

"I don't want your sympathy," she said, though not as strongly as she had wanted.

"I-I know," Misty said, "but I wanted to give it. I'm so sorry that you're going through this."

May had approached and gently placed her arm around her relatively new friend, but Serena didn't want anyone hugging her at that moment. She just wanted clarity, and then she wanted to go home.

"Can I talk to Ash alone?" she turned to Misty and asked. Misty looked skeptically for a moment, but then nodded. Ash needed to clarify whatever was going on so people could move on and so healing could begin.

Misty and May walked inside slowly, upset that meeting this new person who was clearly important to both Ash and May had gone so wrong. But they both knew themselves that it was very hard to have one's heart broken.

Serena had calmed down enough to turn to Ash and look him in the eye. She made it a point to square her shoulders and stand up straight.

"Ash, I have to know if there could ever possibly be something between us. I know there can't right now, but how serious is this? Do you love her?" she motioned to the house.

"Serena…I…yes. I love Misty very much."

Serena nodded and closed her eyes as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I never meant to lead you on, Serena. I honestly didn't know you…felt like this!" Ash said through a pleading tone as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "But, I don't feel about you like that."

"Okay," she said, her voice shuddering as she began to walk to the house in order to collect her things and leave.

"But you are important to me, Serena! You're one of my best friends!" Ash called after her.

But that was the problem, wasn't it? Hearing that hurt even more. She knew he meant well by it, but the fire she felt burn her insides upon hearing they were just friends, that he would never share the love she felt for him, it was too much to bear at that moment.

It didn't take her long to collect her bag of things and then step into the living room and approach the front door. Of course most everyone was in the living room, and she had to endure the confused stares of all of Ash's friends. How she wished Clemont and Bonnie had gone with her at that point. She yearned to see the bespectacled young man and his precocious sister more than anything right at that moment.

Ash, May, and Misty let her clear the front door and followed her out, not wanting to subject her to the embarrassment of having the whole group hear their goodbyes. Not to mention Ash and Misty weren't really ready to blab about their relationship to the world.

"You don't have to go," Misty plead with her, though she knew that if she were in Serena's shoes, she would have been long gone herself.

"I know," Serena replied sadly, "but I really have to."

"I'm so sorry, Serena," May cried softly and embraced her. "This is all my fault. I told you to…"

"May, you're a good friend. You were trying to help," Serena said and returned the hug.

"Do you want me to go back to Hoenn with you?" May asked as they pulled apart and she rubbed the tears away from her eyes.

"I'm not going back to Hoenn," Serena replied. "Not right now at least. I'm going home. I'll let you know when I'm coming back."

Ash cringed as he heard the possibility of Serena ending her dreams. "Please don't quit, Serena!" he yelled louder than he meant to. "I'm not worth it! Really!" Ash was developing tears in his own eyes.

"Well, Ash," she said and smiled softly at him, and then at Misty, "I think there are two of us here that disagree with you there. But I'm not quitting. I just need a break.

"I have to get to the airport soon, guys, or I won't be able to catch a flight," she said, the grief still threatening to overtake her again.

"Are you going to be okay?" Misty asked.

"No," Serena shook her head. "Not yet."

And that was that. She began her trek toward the airport with nothing but sadness flowing through her. She had to move on at that point, though, so she grabbed her phone and typed in a familiar number. The phone only rung once until a voice that actually got her to smile streamed through the earpiece.

"Hey, Clemont," she said, "I'm coming home early. Can you pick me up at the airport?"

* * *

Serena wasn't fine for several weeks, but she kept moving forward. She continued to improve herself, and a month later she found herself back in Hoenn traveling with May. A month after that, she and May even met up with Misty and the two of them were able to start over. There was still a healing wound that hurt when she met the redhead, but Misty was so nice to her she just couldn't bring herself to dislike the girl. They eventually even became friends. And later, very good friends, and Serena found there were certain perks to being good friends with the leader of the Kanto Elite Four.

A month after meeting Misty, another surprise awaited her when she and May reached Slateport City to watch that year's Grand Festival. Clemont had flown all the way in, and announced nervously that he had come to watch the festival with her. That ignited a fire that soon became a relationship between the inventor and the performer.

* * *

 **Present day:**

Even today, standing in front of the mirror and knowing that Ash was about to marry Misty, and that she of all people was going to be a bridesmaid in the wedding, there was just the hint of a still-healing emotional wound. Something deep within her still hurt. But it was dull. It wasn't as noticeable as it once was. And the thought of a certain inventor raised her spirits and made her strong. Someone did love her. Was it the one she had initially wanted? No. But he was there when she needed him, and he was the one that mattered. She smiled with determination at herself in the mirror and then confidently joined the other girls as they all made their way to the vestibule. The wedding had already started.

* * *

Delia sat livid in the front pew of the huge church that Samuel Oak had been able to procure for her son's wedding. But her son wasn't there. The groomsmen (Gary, Cilan, Clemont, Drew, Tracey, Max, and Barry) and bridesmaids (Daisy [maid of honor], Lily, Violet, Serena, May, Dawn, Iris, and Leaf) were all standing nervously just outside the entrance to the sanctuary, but Ash and Brock were nowhere to be seen. Ash was fifteen minutes late to his own wedding. She should have known.

Suddenly, the front doors of the church could be heard slamming open, and a rush of wind blew through the sanctuary as all the guests (who consisted of various friends, friends-of-friends, and acquaintances of Ash and Misty that could make it on short notice) turned in their seats. Ash could be seen climbing off his larger-than-normal charizard, followed by Brock as he returned an aerodactyl and handed the ball to Gary.

The groomsmen all gathered around Ash and made sure to straighten his bowtie and tuxedo. Ash then winked and gave the officiant a thumbs up. The priest rolled his eyes and then gestured to begin the service.

Delia rubbed her nose, but figured that late was better than never. Not only was Ash running late, but the entire cadre of the Kanto media had gathered outside the church and had made it a royal pain to filter in the actual invited guests. Add to that the fact that she knew several people who weren't invited had made it in. She figured as long as they didn't make much of a scene it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but really. The nerve of people. Just because her son and soon-to-be daughter were celebrities it didn't give them the right to crash their wedding.

The orchestra began playing, signaling the groom and officiant to come to the front of the chapel. Ash smiled at his mother as he passed her and Delia felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes. Next, the groomsmen escorted the bridesmaids down the aisle. Brock made it a point to smile at Lucy as he and Daisy passed by as the best man and maid of honor. Then Togekiss began floating down the aisle spreading flower petals with Pikachu riding on its back as the ring bearer. Delia thought it was the best-looking wedding party she'd ever seen.

Then the music changed. The entire congregation stood. Ash stopped breathing. And the doors opened revealing Professor Oak with the beautifully adorned Misty on his arm. The wedding march played and Delia lost it and began sobbing. Misty herself was having trouble keeping it together, but Professor Oak patted her hand and guided her down the aisle slowly, keeping in step with the music as they'd practiced the night before.

Misty and the Professor reached the end of the aisle and the music stopped. The officiant signaled for everyone to be seated and then asked, "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

"I do," the Professor answered, and Misty wiped a tear from her eye as she reached over and hugged the man who was like a grandfather to her.

He handed her hand to Ash and she stepped up to face him. He looked like he was turning purple, so she leaned in and quietly reminded him to breathe. He did, and smiled at her.

"We are gathered here today for this joyous occasion of Holy Matrimony. Of the joining together of Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower in this most sacred of unions. It is a joyous occasion, but not one for any of us to take lightly, for in joining together, Ash and Misty have agreed to certain responsibilities to each other. I charge you both to love and respect each other now, and for the rest of your lives!

"Do you, Ash, take Misty to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

Ash swallowed what seemed like a tennis ball, but gazing into his bride's eyes, all trepidation and anxiety suddenly left him, and he knew there was only one answer he could have ever given to those questions: "I do!"

"And you, Misty, do you take Ash to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

Misty's smile lit up the entire chapel. Her happiness was contagious as several bridesmaids and certainly Ash's mother could be heard crying, she herself was having to wipe tears away periodically. But she too could only have ever answered those questions in one way: "I do."

"The couples have written their own vows for each other, and we will now take this time to allow them to read each other their promises."

Ash pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and began nervously, "Mist, I really didn't know what to say a few hours ago. It just seemed like not that much was changing. We're still best friends, and we've never been the kind of couple who left anything quiet between one another. Well except for the nearly ten years we hid our crushes." Multiple people chuckled at that. "I've never been good at this kind of stuff, but you somehow through your patience and love for me have made me what I am today. I wouldn't have done any of what I've accomplished if you hadn't fished me out of that river on the day I started my journey. I'd have been no one without your immediate guidance in my life. You saved my life, Mist. It's always been you, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll love you forever."

Misty laughed and cried as Ash read his vow. It was simple, yet endearing. Just like him. She wouldn't have had it any other way. She pulled out her vows next and began to read.

"Ash, I knew I loved you when I was ten years old. Most people would have called it a silly crush, but a boy as kind, thoughtful, loving, devoted, and rambunctious as you is not easy to forget. You destroyed my bike, but captured my heart, and I knew as soon as you caught that caterpie that my life wasn't ever going to be the same. And even when we were apart, I knew that I couldn't love anyone like I love you. I was lost the day we met. Depressed and frustrated. You brought a new purpose to my life, and encouraged me to continue striving for my dreams. Then you helped me accomplish them. Thank you so much for loving me. I'll always love you."

"May I have the rings?" the priest asked, and Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and handed him the rings as everyone laughed.

He handed them to the bride and groom and then said, "Place this ring on the third finger of Misty's left hand and repeat…"

"With this ring, I thee wed."

Misty replicated the action as well.

"If anyone here present objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace," the priest said quickly.

He turned the page of his guide and began to issue the final pronouncement…but…

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To advance the virtues of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the starts above!"

The lights went out except for three spotlights. One on Ash and Misty, and the other two on a magenta haired woman and a purple haired man who were posed in the most awkward way imaginable.

"Jesse."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or…oh who are we kidding!?"

"Meowth! That's…hey you screwed up the one shot we get at saying this!"

James ran up to the befuddled couple and grabbed their hands, "Why didn't you invite us!? After all these years, you don't even invite dear old Team Rocket!?"

"Yeah," Jesse said and approached James and then grabbed his hand (which had a ring on it), "you'd almost think you twerps didn't like us or something!"

Misty's face had turned red and every vein imaginable was popping out of her forehead, "What are you two doing!? You're going to ruin our wedding!"

"Oh far from it, girlie," Jesse responded winking, "we're going to make it fabulous!"

"Alright, you're invited," Misty said through gritted teeth, "now SIT DOWN!"

At that, the three former crooks plopped down next to Delia, who looked just as bemused as the rest of those in attendance, and the lights suddenly came back on.

The priest adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat and then said, "Well then, if there are to be no more distractions, Now that Ash and Misty have given themselves to each other by the promises they have exchanged, I pronounce them to be husband and wife. Ash, you may now kiss the bride."

Ash smiled broadly, taking Team Rocket's interruption in stride (after all, he was used to it), and embraced Misty. She forgot all her anger at the TRio and melted into his arms as their lips met and those in attendance applauded. Ash thought this moment was even better than after his championship victory. He and Misty had each other, and life was perfect in those moments, and nothing could go wrong.

* * *

 **A/N: So guys, this is where I rant against The Pokemon Company execs. So what's the best way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a long-running piece of fiction with memorable and beloved characters? Why you spit in the fans' faces by retconning those beloved characters and replacing them with characters nobody knows or cares about.**

 **Seriously, though, the people who made that call at TPC can all go f#$% themselves. Like what the hell!? They're actively losing money with this decision. This will draw no one who wouldn't have seen the movie. I haven't watched a Pokemon movie in years. But I was GOING to see this one because I assumed we were going to see characters I loved. NOPE! I was going to take my kids to this movie to introduce them to Pokemon. NOPE!**

 **I can't imagine the focus groups they went through for this, because none of them represented those who watched this show in its heyday.**

 **So to spite TPC, I give you an Ash and Misty wedding, all your favorite characters, and I slam them not-so-subtly in Ash's vows. He's not who he became if not for Misty and Brock. Screw you Pokemon Company.**

 **I hope you caught some of the subtle humor about some of the characters. As always, let me know what you think!**


End file.
